Aston Martin managing director, commercial and marketing, Jefferson Slack has laid down the gauntlet with a direct target to be fighting for Formula 1 world championship honours by 2027.
Having been on the grid in various guises since 1991 when racing as Jordan, the Silverstone-based team has transformed since a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll acquired it in 2018 and evolved into Aston Martin ahead of the 2021 season.
Having started the 2023 season strongly, with Fernando Alonso scoring six podiums from the opening eight weekends, the team’s form dipped significantly since and it is a distant fifth in the 2024 constructors' standings with a best finish of fifth this term.
But with a new factory and aerodynamic guru Adrian Newey arriving in the capacity of managing technical partner next March, before it becomes a works Honda engine partner for the onset of new regulations in 2026, the ambition to progress through the order is clear.
The rules upheaval will involve smaller and nimbler cars, a reduction in the minimum weight limit as well as multiple modes for the front and rear wings to adjust downforce, while powertrain regulations will also be revamped.
“We have to be fighting for race wins and world championships, and we’re going to be doing that,” Slack told the James Allen on F1 Podcast. “It’s going to be ‘26 and we’ve got all the tools in place to do that.
“Look, when you build a team from 300 people to 1000 people, it’s a process. This is a five, six, seven-year process. We’re going against the best-organised teams with huge histories – they're really, really good at what they do.
“This is not an easy task, but that is our goal and I firmly believe we have the pieces in place.
“Adrian is certainly a big part of that for ‘26, to be certainly fighting for wins and, I think, then in ‘27 fighting for world championships.”
Asked the difference that having someone of Newey’s pedigree join Aston Martin will make, Slack added: “It makes a huge difference, it bodes [well] for the story that we are the team of the future.
“He's won 25 world championships. He's won at Williams, he's won at McLaren, he's won at Red Bull and he's going to win with us.
“That's a great piece of confidence to have when you go and talk to people and again about the story of our team. There's Adrian, but there's also a new facility, a new campus, new wind tunnel, Honda works deal for ‘26.
“He's been the best ever in interpreting new rules. In ‘26, it is the biggest regulation change in the history of Formula 1, so having him on our side is a great vote of confidence about where the team is going.”
