F1 | Aston Martin, Szafnauer: “The objective is third place in the constructors' championship”

Among the innovations that will characterize the new season is the return of Aston Martin as a manufacturer, with the historic British brand taking Racing Point's place on the grid. The Gaydon company will appear on the track with a half-renewed line-up: Lance Stroll confirmed and will share the garage with Sebastian Vettel, replacement for Sergio Perez who joined Red Bull.

Interviewed by Auto Motor und Sport, Aston Martin CEO and team principal Otmar Szafnauer discussed the objectives the team must pursue.

"We want to start where we left off last year – said Szafnauer – We had the third fastest car, but we only finished fourth behind McLaren. We were unlucky. If we can be consistent we can be third parties. This must be our goal. If things go like they did in Bahrain or Turkey, we should be able to put the car on pole position and have a chance to win".

On the lack of possibility of carrying out a private test session with an old car, to allow Vettel to begin to familiarize himself with the new reality, Szafnauer said: "We are not a large team and rent our engines and transmissions. They don't belong to us. We have to return them after the season. We don't have an old car that we can give him".