De La Rosa "shocked" By Transformation And Investment In Aston Martin

Aston Martin’s new team ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa, says he’s excited about the changes taking place at the base.

De la Rosa was a test driver in 1998 when the team competed under the main cover Jordan. Since then it has passed through many hands until it was bought by Lawrence Stroll in 2018. Last season it was renamed Aston Martin.

The team announced today that it has hired more than 100 Grands Prix veterans as ambassadors.

The role will be no different from what I have done with other teams in the past, except for the most important difference, which is that I don’t drive a car.

But when you have to provide marketing and communication support for the business, everything else is pretty much the same.

Stroll launched a major development within the group, building a new “state of the art” factory at a cost of £200 million. The team has swelled the ranks of its technical departments and outclassed its rivals, notably including former Red Bull aerodynamicist Dan Fallows.

De la Rosa visited the team in July before being given his new role and was impressed with what he saw. “I’ve just arrived here and obviously I know very little about the team compared to the people working at Aston Martin,” said de la Rosa.

Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and Go ad free

“When I came back to ‘Team Silverstone’ – because my first team in Formula 1 was at the Jordan Grand Prix in ’98 – I knew the basis of the team, at that time. And when I arrived in July this summer, I was shocked.

“I’m shocked at the change, the investment going on in the new factory, the wind tunnel. But more importantly the ambition of the team members, the people I met.

“I was very touched by that. And that’s when I said to myself, wow, it would be great to join Aston Martin. In my head, I got a feeling that this is the right place, the right team.

He said he also appealed to the idea of joining his former team. “Maybe it was the fact that I was visiting my old team,” he said. “It also helped to lift the mood a little bit.

But meeting the engineers was a great feeling. Everyone believes that the team will do it, that it will go on to win. That changed me and made me think, ‘Wow, I want to be here.’

“I was lucky that the interest came from Aston Martin because love doesn’t often come from both sides. But it happened at this time and in this situation.

Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and Go ad free