Aston Martin signalled its return to the pinnacle of global motorsport yesterday with the unveiling of the new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship contender. The new AMR21 heralds the beginning of a new chapter in the 108-year history of the brand, and carries the hopes of racing fans around the world ahead of its debut in the Bahrain Grand Prix later this month.

Described by Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll as an ‘important event in automotive history’, the new contender will be the first works Formula 1 car to carry the famous wings since Maurice Trintignant’s DBR5 crossed the finish line at Silverstone in 1960.

The AMR21, to be raced this season by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, carries a striking Aston Martin Racing Green livery in recognition of Aston Martin’s traditional racing colours and sporting legacy. It is also bedecked by a host of global partners, led by American IT giant Cognizant, while the chassis features a magenta stripe down the side in reference to the team’s longstanding partner BWT.

The team will be based at a new 200,000ft² facility will complement the existing Aston Martin F1 factory at Silverstone when completed in the second half of 2022, and the team is well positioned to become an innovation lab to drive forward the brand’s future road car technologies. These will include the suite of mid-engined sports cars, inspired by the Aston Martin Valkyrie, which will become central to the product portfolio through the next decade.

Next year will mark a century since Aston Martin made its grand prix debut (in France 1922), and the brand has enjoyed sustained success in sportscar racing, including overall victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Most recently Aston Martin became a double class winner with the Vantage GTE in last year’s race at La Sarthe and is the reigning GT FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ champion.

The new AMR21, powered by a turbo-charged Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance engine with hybrid energy recovery, will run for the first time at Silverstone during a promotional day on 4 March, before embarking on a full test programme in Bahrain on 12-14 March.

Aston Martin Lagonda’s executive chairman Lawrence Stroll said: “I have dreamed about this day for a very long time. I have always been a car guy and I’ve always loved racing, too. My first dream was to own a F1 team. My second dream was to acquire a significant shareholding in Aston Martin Lagonda. Today is about the merging of those two dreams. So, as I say, today is all about dreams, and it shows that dreams really can come true, in the shape of our new AMR21.

“Aston Martin returning to Formula One after an absence of 61 years will have a powerful effect on the sport, the media and the fans, commanding global attention.

“The team who designed and built our new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One car – the 500 men and women who conceive, manufacture, build and prepare our cars so that we can go racing at the pinnacle of global motorsport – has always punched above its weight. Now it has the power with which to punch even harder.

“This is just the beginning. The team is pushing forward, and our ambitions are limitless. We now have the pieces in place, the people and the partners, to make real progress.”