The Aston Martin AMR21 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Aston Martin Formula One team, that competed in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. This was the first car to be entered by the returning Aston Martin team.[2] The car was driven by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll.[3] Vettel, who has made a habit of naming his cars since his days at Toro Rosso, named his car "Honey Ryder" in reference to Ursula Andress' character in the 1962 James Bond movie Dr. No.[4]

Aston Martin AMR21
Sebastian Vettel in the AMR21 during the British Grand Prix
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorAston Martin
Designer(s)Andrew Green (Technical Director)
Tom McCullough (Performance Director)
Akio Haga (Chief Designer)
Ian Hall (Chief Designer)
Bruce Eddington (Chief Engineer, Composites)
Dan Carpenter (Chief Engineer, Mechanical Design)
Andrew Brown (Head of R&D)
Craig Gardiner (Head of Vehicle Performance)
Robin Gearing (Chief Performance Engineer)
Guru Johl (Chief Aerodynamicist)
Predecessor
SuccessorAston Martin AMR22
Technical specifications[1]
Length5,600 mm (220.5 in)
Width2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Height1,500 mm (59.1 in)
EngineMercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance 1.6 L (98 cu in) Turbo Rear-mid mounted
Weight752 kg (1,658 lb)
FuelPetronas
Tyres
Competition history
Notable entrantsAston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
Notable drivers
Debut2021 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last event2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
210100

Initial design and development

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The car is an evolution of the Racing Point RP20, used by Aston Martin's predecessor team Racing Point during the 2020 championship.[5]

Season summary

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Stroll at the British Grand Prix

At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Stroll qualified in tenth place. Vettel initially qualified in eighteenth place but prior to the race, he received a five-place grid penalty for failing to respect double yellow flags during qualifying, dropping him to last.[6][7] Stroll went on to finish tenth place, while Vettel managed to gain six positions from his starting position to fourteenth place before receiving a 10-second penalty due to a collision with Ocon on lap 45, he eventually finished in fifteenth place.[8][9] At the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Stroll qualified in tenth place with Vettel in thirteenth place.[10] Despite qualifying in thirteenth place, Vettel started from the pit lane due to brake issues.[11] He eventually retired at lap 61 due to gearbox issues.[12][13] Stroll initially finish in seventh place, however he was given a five-second time penalty post-race for cutting the Tamburello chicane, dropping him to eighth place.[14][13] At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Vettel claimed Aston Martin's first podium in Formula One by finishing 2nd. It would be his final career podium to date; he also finished in second at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but he ended up being disqualified after the race as the stewards were unable to extract sufficient fuel from his car.

A modified AMR21 was used during testing of the 2022 tyre compounds after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[15]

Racing Pride

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In June 2021, Racing Pride announced a series of initiatives with Aston Martin promoting LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion. Coinciding with Pride Month 2021, the collaboration also saw Racing Pride logos appear on the Aston Martin cars at the 2021 French Grand Prix.[16][17][18]

Four time F1 Champion, and Aston Martin F1 driver Sebastian Vettel said of the partnership: "I want to help highlight the positivity around the message of inclusion and acceptance. I congratulate the people who have pushed the discussion that has led to wider inclusion; but, equally, I'm aware that more needs to be done to change attitudes and remove much of the remaining negativity. It is great to see Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team giving this issue support - there is a long road ahead, but I'm really pleased we can play a positive role".[19]

Later use

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The AMR21 was run at the Hungaroring in September 2023 in a private test for Felipe Drugovich and Jessica Hawkins.[20] In October, it was run in a private test at Silverstone Circuit for Luke Browning, as part of Browning's prize for winning the Autosport BRDC Award.[21]

Complete Formula One results

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(key)

Year Entrant Power unit Tyres Driver name Grands Prix Points WCC pos.
BHR EMI POR ESP MON AZE FRA STY AUT GBR HUN BEL NED ITA RUS TUR USA MXC SAP QAT SAU ABU
2021 Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 P   Lance Stroll 10 8 14 11 8 Ret 10 8 13 8 Ret 20 12 7 11 9 12 14 Ret 6 11 13 77 7th
  Sebastian Vettel 15 15† 13 13 5 2 9 12 17† Ret DSQ 5 13 12 12 18 10 7 11 10 Ret 11
Reference(s):[9][13]
Notes

Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the winner's race distance.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.

References

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  1. ^ "Aston Martin F1 Team - AMR21". Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. ^ Sam Shead (3 March 2021). "Aston Martin launches first F1 car in over 60 years". CNBC. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  3. ^ Mike Duff (3 March 2021). "Aston Martin F1 Team's Launch of AMR21 Builds on Momentum of Big 2020 Season". Autoweek. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. ^ Reuters Staff (26 March 2021). "The name's Ryder, Honey Ryder for Vettel's Aston Martin F1 car". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Rosario Giuliana (5 March 2021). "Technical Insight: AMR21 – a mix of W11 and evolved RP20". Motorsport Week. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  6. ^ Lewis Larkam (27 March 2021). "F1 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - Full Qualifying Results". Crash. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ Haydn Cobb (28 March 2021). "Vettel receives grid penalty for Bahrain yellow flag infringement". Motorsports.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Vettel says he 'couldn't avoid' Ocon as he apologises for hitting Frenchman". Formula 1 (in Korean). 28 March 2021. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b "2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - Championship Points" (PDF). FIA. 28 March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  10. ^ Lewis Larkam (17 April 2021). "F1 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Qualifying Results". Crash. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  11. ^ Pablo Elizalde; Adam Cooper (19 April 2021). "Vettel: FIA "not very professional" in dealing with Imola penalty". Autosport. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Aston Martin still 'investigating root cause' of Vettel and Stroll's pre-race brake issues at Imola". Formula 1. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Championship Points" (PDF). FIA. 18 April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  14. ^ Tom Howard (19 April 2021). "Stroll drops to eighth place with post-race F1 penalty at Emilia Romagna GP". Autosport. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  15. ^ Somerfield, Matthew (15 December 2021). "The technology on show in Abu Dhabi F1 testing ahead of new-look 2022". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Aston Martin partners with Racing Pride to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion". Racer. 2 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Aston Martin partners with LGBTQ+ inclusivity movement Racing Pride". The Race. 2 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Aston Martin Celebrates LGBTQ+ Community By Putting Pride On Its F1 Cars". The Race. 2 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Aston Martin announce Racing Pride partnership and reveal initiatives for June's Pride Month". Sky Sports. 2 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Hawkins completes debut F1 test with Aston Martin". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  21. ^ "Award winner Browning completes Aston Martin F1 test at Silverstone". www.motorsport.com. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
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