Saudi's Aramco and Aston Martin sign partnership deal

Saudi Arabian state-owned energy giant Aramco and Formula One's Aston Martin team have signed a partnership deal which will set Project Aston Martin fully into motion and provide impetus to the Formula One team's ambition of developing sustainable hybrid engines and running on sustainable fuel by 2025.

Aramco is already a major sponsor of the Formula One sport, having signed a deal with the motorsports competition last year, which was also the first time Saudi Arabia hosted their own Formula One Grand Prix at Jeddah in December. The partnership with both team and competition will boost the Kingdom's visibility in the motorsports segment shortly after it also hosted the Dakar Rally.

The partnership with Aramco will see Aston Martin rebranded as Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team and will also involve the development and commercialisation of fuel-efficient engine technologies for road cars, advanced lubricants and the deployment of non-metallic materials in vehicles, the team said in a statement.

"We are in the sport to win…" said Aston Martin chairman and Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, in a statement.

"So I am delighted to welcome an incredible partner of the stature of Aramco … which I know will greatly assist our team to achieve our goals of winning Formula One world championships."

Aston Martin, formerly known as Force India, is positioning itself to challenge the title-winning teams on track ahead of sweeping regulation changes and budget caps announced for the 2022 F1 season which is scheduled to begin in March. They are also building a new factory and have hired top names from other teams.

Last month, they announced the signing of former BMW Motorsport head Mike Krack.

Former McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh was announced as the team's group chief executive last year.

"Winning in Formula One is all about assembling and managing the right ingredients in the optimal way," said Whitmarsh in February 3 statement.

Mohammed Al Qahtani, Senior Vice President Downstream at Aramco said that the partnership reflected Aramco's efforts to reduce emissions in the global automotive and transport industries.

"Our ambition is to supply premium fuels and lubricants to the global automotive sector, and our tie-up with the Aston Martin team will help drive awareness of our high-quality products.