Aston Martin's Silverstone factory tour was 'crucial' for Newey
F1 News
In June, Adrian Newey was given a tour of the Formula 1 team's brand-new factory. Lawrence Stroll, the team owner and father of driver Lance Stroll, commented on how important it was for the Brit to visit the Silverstone factory to get his signature.
Lawrence Stroll on the new factory
"I think it [factory tour] was huge. It's hard to understand, comprehend, or try to explain these three spectacular buildings if you don't visit. It's a very big part of our tool to make us a championship team," said Stroll Sr.
With the old factory, Aston Martin would not have been able to reach the heights they now hope for. "We certainly couldn't have been a championship team with our old tools, so this (the new factory) had to be built to show our intent, our ambition, and to win. So getting Adrian here, I think, was critically important, but I'll let him speak for that."
Newey on the new factory and Lawrence Stroll
Newey explained his viewpoint. "The building's clearly mightily impressive. It has a great feel to it. But the second bit, which we didn't talk about, is I think it's a real demonstration of Lawrence's commitment to envision where he wants the team to get to. I don't know how much it costs, but it's not going to be cheap. I'll find other ways of spending money now for him within the cost cap," the Aston Martin engineer told reporters.
The brand new recruit also had a nice compliment in store for Lawrence Stroll. "I think that was perhaps the combination of seeing all the facilities, how nice a feel and how well thought out the building is, and perhaps most of all, that very visual demonstration of Lawrence. If I had to describe Lawrence in one sentence, I think one of the things that I also think of is he has total belief, he has his direction, and he's happy to put all his chips on black, and that's what he's doing here."
Quite a bit of work to do
Aston Martin still has many steps to take before they can fight for the World Championship. It will be a long-term project for Fernando Alonso and Stroll's team, as the gap to Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren is still big. Newey must help Aston Martin close the gap to the other constructors.
This article was written in collaboration with Estéban den Toom