Aston Martin Enthusiasts - Miscellaneous

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

williamp said:

...for a fading ex wdc to go just before retirement

Maybe, but they can bring a wealth of experience to help develop the car. And if you can't afford a Verstappen, then you either have a pro on the way down, or a rookie on the way up (who if any good will get stolen by a richer team). It was notable yesterday how the race was split into the top three teams scrapping for the podium, and 'everybody else' trotting along behind. Not sure how you can get up the pack.

I would not call Fernando Alonso fading yet.
7 to 4 qualifying results, against his young teammate this season.

..............................

Yes, your point about 'everybody else', is starkly shown by the big gap in Constructors Championship points.

In 3rd place ..... Mercedes ...........= 304 points.
In 4th place ...... Alpine Renault .....= 99 points.

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

The problem IMHO is that, even if AM was able to spend enough to be competitive, it would kill them. They wouldn't sell enough extra cars on the back of it to cover the gap. It's just not a sport that AM can really compete in, sadly. And their F1 team is only badge marketing.

If I was buying a car based purely on F1 prowess, then it would have to be Mercedes or Ferrari... I wonder if Red Bull will launch a road car...?

You have slightly confused me, 'They wouldn't sell enough extra cars on the back of it to cover the gap.'
The road cars business and F1 cars, being completely separate businesses.

The interesting aspect is that with far less money, the predecessor team (Force India) was widely recognised as achieving much better results, than would be expected for their budget size. Therefore that must have been the team effort of all the employees. Some key people have since been eased out, ironically the main man to Alpine Renault, who are now 4th in the Championship.

Aston Martin pays £21 million annually (for 10 years), to LS's private F1 team. For that money, Mr S. very kindly allows the AM name to be used on his cars. After that deal was announced, sponsorship money 'fell from the sky', possibly far more than LS has personally invested in AML. Rumoured to involve hundreds of £millions.

If you meet LS, be very careful not to mention Minardi.


'I wonder if Red Bull will launch a road car...? '

We both know the ideal project leader, Les Edgar.
Not completely experienced yet in mastering car production, but with a few gulps of Red Bull, and the ever helpful book, 'How to Build Cars for Dummies', he could try. Problem being, Red Bull would not stand for slipped timescale targets, which with his latest production date for the Griffith now at 5 years behind target, perhaps a pep talk from Christian Horner might be the solution. -

Edited by Jon39 on Monday 1st August 14:30

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

But the road car business is sending money to the F1 business, no?

Yes, maybe I misunderstood the comment in your post.

'The problem IMHO is that, even if AM was able to spend enough to be competitive, it would kill them. They wouldn't sell enough extra cars on the back of it to cover the gap.' 

The (sponsorship) agreement is for the annual contracted sum, don't think any additional money involved 'to be competitive'.
I think possibly the annual payment might be about double the amount being paid to Red Bull previously.

The many new sponsors of LS's F1 team (now including the largest listed company in the world), presumably were attracted by the opportunity to be associated with the Aston Martin brand. Therefore I suppose LS needs to keep AML in business, otherwise the sponsors would lose that connection.

[Jon39]

DB9VolanteDriver said:

Jon39 said:

Since Fernando Alonso began his F1 career in 2001 (up to 2021), he has outperformed his team mate every season (draw in 2004 against Jarno Trulli).

Perhaps you’ve forgotten 2007, when a certain Mr LH ended up 2nd in the WC, and would have been the first ever rookie WC except for getting stuck in a gravel trap at the entrance to pit lane in China. Alonso left McLaren after the season since he realized he couldn’t beat Lewis if he stayed.

Thank you Steve. You have an excellent memory.

I was simply going by the data on this webpage.
https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/p3ooeh/...

Considering Fernando Alonso had his 41st birthday at the weekend, he has had some good results this season.
Still seems to perform very well, against his 25 year old team mate.

Does Juan Manuel Fangio still hold the age record? Five World Championships (with four different teams), the last of which when he was age 46. The different teams aspect seems impressive, because occasionally we have seen the making of a champion, who happens to be driving the outstanding car of the season, with a team mate obeying orders.

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

Which brings us back to the point that LS should be paying AM, not the other way round...

The biggest sponsors, or 'partners' as they seem to be called, appear to be Cognizant and Aramco: https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/partners. If they are the largest listed companies in the world they could simply buy the team...

Yes, Aramco is the big one.
2022 first quarter Net Income = $40 billion.
98% owned by the government. IPO in 2019, the company is now valued at about $2.5 trillion.

Expect there is probably enough to buy Aston Martin, amongst the loose change in their petty cash tin. -

[Jon39]

At the Italian Grand Prix, Aston Martin must be dissapointed with their qualifying result of
17th and 18th.

However, luck has helped, because so many penalties have been applied to other competitors, that Aston Martin now hold grid positions 11th and 12th.

[Jon39]

kevin_cambs_uk said:

Well the Grand Prix is over, as a new owner I want them to do well, I don’t follow sport but feel I can support them, but it is a little disappointing, but the surely it can only get better!

Remain confident Kevin.

When the 2021 season AM F1 racing car was unveiled, Mr Stroll said, "Aston Martin has its sights set on winning the Formula One world championship within the next five years".

We are now in year 2. The leading constructor team has 545 points and Aston Martin 25 (9th place out of 10, nils points today), but perhaps they are just holding back a little, to confuse the opposition, before being all conquering in year 5.

Joking aside, the cars at the front are fast and the cars at the back are almost as fast. Only a second or so difference in lap times. Not like the old days, when lapping occurred far more.

[Jon39]

An Aston Martin Vulcan is racing at Donnington Park this weekend.

Wonder if this might be the first time a Vulcan has been raced?

In qualifying this morning, pole position was achieved by a Mercedes GT3, time 1:38.835.
The Vulcan will be on the grid adjacent to two Vantage GT4s, all with times of 1:49.

The entrant is Venture Innovations, who are also the entrant of a Mercedes GT4 in the race.
Does the Venture Innovations name mean anything to you ?

A Saturday and Sunday event.
BARC have a livestream on YouTube.
The event timetable is on the TSL Timing website and the BARC website.

[Jon39]

M1AGM said:

RichB said:

Jon39 said:

<clip> In qualifying this morning, pole position was achieved by a Mercedes GT3, time 1:38.835.
The Vulcan will be on the grid adjacent to two Vantage GT4s, all with times of 1:49.

over 10 secs/lap is a huge difference. Is that correct?

1.49 is pedestrian around donny. Think I’ve been close to that on a bike. Something not quite right there?

For qualifying this morning, the official track description was Drying.

Fastest lap in the race so far = 1:27.7
The Vulcan = 1:31.7

It is the full circuit today.

[Jon39]

Another Aston Martin performed very well in one of the other races.

Rikki Cann's DBS driven by Samual Wilson, gradually made up places during the race and was 4th overall at the finish.

[Jon39]

williamp said:

Do we know what race the Vulcan is in??

British Endurance Championship. Race 2 yesterday.
Although a 2 day race meeting, think those cars were only attending on Saturday.

The BARC, who do the YouTube coverage probably have two videos, one for each day.
You can wind them back, but I have noticed before, that a completed video sometimes disappears for a number of days.

[Jon39]

Much better lap times for the AM F1 team in USA, but in the end, no points.

Did Lance Stroll intentionally steer left, directly into the path of the overtaking Fernando Alonso?
Nearly killing your next years team mate, might not be a good start for their 2023 season together.

Was a penalty issued to LS ?

[Jon39]

Mr.Tremlini said:

He was given a three-place grid drop for Mexico, which seems light. The left turn was an intentional reaction, not a good move...

AM F1 certainly got points in Texas with Vettel finishing 7th, they are now just 1 point behind Alfa Romeo in the constructors.

Thanks Dean. I was wrong about the points.

[Jon39]

Many Aston Martin enthusiasts share an interest in engineering and technoogy.

How about this for engineering achievement. Photos just a few minutes ago.
232,000 miles from Earth and 1,500 miles from the Moon.

Space flight fascinates me, especially when I consider that my grandfather was born before powered flight.

[Jon39]

LIVE - If you are quick, you can see the Northern Lights in action now.

https://explore.org/livecams/zen-den/northern-ligh...


(wait for it to load)

[Jon39]

And coming in at number 6 is,

The presenters enthusiasm for this car is infectious.
A man who has good taste.

https://youtu.be/H310_xqc1_k

Starts at 11:15

[Jon39]

I think the AM F1 unveiling ceremony is this evening.
Live viewing on the internet.

Stand by to count 'ultra luxury''.

More new sponsors have been announced this month.
Incoming money flow continues.
Might soon need a trailer for the F1 car, to provide extra space for so many sponsors names.

[Jon39]

Alek Ackerman with his usual enthusiasm.

Valhalla.

Keep your eye on the stool at the reception desk, in the background.
Could that be Sebastian Vettel, making an Alfred Hitchcock type cameo appearance ?

https://youtu.be/IWz_ozq2vEg

[Jon39]

[Jon39]

RichB said:

Who's the dude in the white suit?
The same chap who was relaxing on the bar stools in Bahrain?

Don't know about Bahrain, but in the UK, I am not sure that we are now supposed to suggest whether someone is; they, it; male; female; bothways; neutral; chap; chapess; or any other gender.

However, taking a chance, I was fairly sure the dude did look and sound like a lady.
Her/his name is Rachel Brookes.
A British television presenter and journalist, currently working for Sky Sports F1.