How Much Did It Cost Aston Martin To Compete With Red Bull And Beat Mercedes?

Lawrence Stroll has had to invest an eye-watering amount to be able to compete at the front of the grid.

The 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix left F1 fans in awe of the exciting and unexpected surprises that unfolded over the weekend. But nothing was more surprising than the stunning performance of Aston Martin’s AMR23, which secured an impressive podium finish in the season opener.

Aston Martin’s pre-season testing hinted at a quick and competitive car, but few predicted such a strong start to the season for the Silverstone-based team. Many individuals deserve credit for the team’s success, but there’s one man who is the driving force behind making Aston Martin a top contender - none other than Lawrence Stroll.

The Canadian billionaire has been heavily investing in his Formula 1 dream since acquiring Force India in 2018 and later investing in Aston Martin in 2020. However, simply rebranding the team was not enough to catapult them to the top. This is when Stroll decided to raise funds - as much as $300 million - to invest in a state-of-the-art factory, which includes a new wind tunnel. Clearly, those investments are now paying off in a big way.

According to 1996 world champion Damon Hill, who was quoted by Motorsport-Nextgen, Aston Martin has exceeded everyone’s expectations. 

"Max [Verstappen] has talked about wins for Alonso but I think maybe that’s going a bit too far. They’ve already exceeded everyone’s expectations, they’ve exceeded mine and they’ve probably exceeded theirs, so they’re very, very happy at the moment."

Hill also credited Stroll's bold investments for the team's success. He continued:

"Lawrence Stroll put his money where it belongs and he built this team thinking of it as a future top team. Everyone told him 'Lawrence, you know you're going to lose a lot of money.' But he proved everyone wrong."

Aston Martin’s investment in personnel has earned them the "Green Red Bull" tag. However, Stroll isn't concerned with labels, as long as his team delivers results. And those results are currently better than their engine supplier, Mercedes.

According to Hill, Aston Martin's performance is a huge upset for Mercedes, which not only lags behind the front runners but is now also behind their engine customers in terms of pace. Aston Martin's performance in Bahrain left Mercedes embarrassed, as they were beaten by their own customer car. Hill explained:

"That’s a great performance and they actually eclipsed the Mercedes team. Poor Lewis Hamilton and poor George Russell. It was a race that Toto Wolff described as his worst day in motor racing. They were humiliated, they were beaten by a customer car."

Aston Martin's unexpected success has caused quite a stir in the world of Formula 1, with fans and pundits eagerly anticipating their performance in the upcoming Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. All eyes will be on the two AMR23s as they take to the track, with fans eagerly assessing their potential to continue shaking up the F1 hierarchy.