TEAM PREVIEW: The essential lowdown on Aston Martin ahead of the 2024 season

There were definite highs and lows for Aston Martin in 2023, with the team going from podium finishes to a mid-season slump, before recovering their form in the final few races. What can they achieve in 2024? Here’s the lowdown on the squad, their drivers and the key goal for the season ahead…

Drivers for 2024

Fernando Alonso #14: 2 world championships, 32 wins, 106 podiums, 22 pole positions, 2267 points, 380 starts
Lance Stroll #18: 3 podiums, 1 pole position, 268 points, 143 starts

Aston Martin will field an unchanged line-up in 2024. Fernando Alonso returns for his second year with the outfit after what proved to be a hugely successful first.

Alonso arrived at the squad in 2023 off the back of a two-year spell with Alpine, which marked his return to F1 following a hiatus in 2019 and 2020. The Spaniard is yet to recapture the glory of his title-winning days in 2005 and 2006, but remains one of the sport’s most highly-rated names.

Lance Stroll enters his sixth season with the team, having joined in 2019 when it was under the Racing Point guise. The Canadian driver started his F1 career with Williams in 2017.

Last season

The 2023 season could not have started much more strongly for Aston Martin, with the team initially looking like the closest challengers to the dominant Red Bull. Alonso claimed podium finishes in the first few races, while Stroll bounced back from a pre-season cycling accident to score several points finishes.

However, the squad suffered a drop in form as the campaign progressed, not helped by heightened competition posed by the rapidly improving McLaren. Aston Martin slipped backwards in the constructors’ and Alonso was unable to hold onto his top-three position in the drivers’ standings.

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There were signs of a turnaround in the final races of the year, though. Alonso returned to the podium in Brazil after an incredible battle with Sergio Perez in the last laps and he ultimately claimed P4 in the championship, holding off the likes of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

History

Aston Martin first enjoyed a brief foray into Formula 1 back in 1959, before returning as a sponsor to the Red Bull team between 2016 and 2020.

The current team known as Aston Martin, however, have a history of their own, with the squad starting out as Jordan Grand Prix back in 1991. After experiencing some success in the 1990s and early 2000s, their performances declined and eventually the outfit was sold to the Midland Group in 2005, before later becoming Spyker in 2007.

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Indian businessman Vijay Mallya bought the team and renamed it Force India for the 2008 season. Despite some successful years, the squad entered into administration in 2018 and then became Racing Point Force India before changing to Racing Point in 2019.

The team’s life as Aston Martin started in 2021 when Lawrence Stroll purchased a stake in company. Since then the outfit have continued to expand by building a state-of-the-art new factory at their base near Silverstone.

Greatest achievement

The highlights from Aston Martin’s so-far short stint in F1 undoubtedly come from Alonso’s achievements in 2023. That first podium result at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix was particularly special, with it confirming the promise that the outfit had hinted at in pre-season testing.

One key goal for 2024

Given the drop-off in performance that occurred in 2023, Aston Martin’s priority will be to achieve a more consistent campaign in the year ahead.

And if they are to better their strongest results of the previous year, perhaps the team might be hoping for a sneaky race win in 2024. Alonso came close by finishing in P2 on three occasions – can he go one better this time around?

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