Aston Martin's Formula One team will enter the 2022 season with a new title sponsor, Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Aramco.
In a deal announced on Thursday, Aramco will join the Aston Martin F1 team's existing title sponsor, Cognizant, resulting in a somewhat convoluted official name of Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.
Aramco is already a major sponsor of multiple F1 grands prix, with its logo having been prominently displayed at several races in the past few seasons.
But through its sponsorship of the Aston Martin F1 team, Aramco plans to take a more active role in the sport. Aramco and Aston Martin plan to establish joint R&D efforts, particularly in the area of sustainable fuels, which F1 plans to introduce in 2026, as well as in hybrid technology and materials research.
Aston Martin Formula One Team and Aramco
Interestingly, Aramco and Aston Martin said their partnership will also focus on the development and commercialization of “fuel-efficient engine technologies” for road cars.
“We are in the sport to win so I am delighted to welcome an incredible partner of the stature of Aramco, who I have learned from this process has a tremendous amount of intellectual property and technical capability, which I know will greatly assist our team to achieve our goals of winning Formula One world championships,” Lawrence Stroll, the Aston Martin F1 team's chairman, said in a statement.
The announcement comes two weeks after the Aston Martin F1 team named Mike Krack as team principal, replacing Otmar Szafnauer.
Krack previously headed BMW's global motorsport operation, where he was in charge of the automaker's Formula E, GT and IMSA programs, as well as its planned expansion into the new LMDh class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the World Endurance Championship. He's also worked for Porsche and spent a decade in F1 working at Sauber (later BMW-Sauber).
