As of next season, the F1 grid will officially feature the name Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Shortly prior to the announcement of their title sponsorship deal, we caught up with Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer in Singapore. Among the conversation topics: how the Red Bull tie-up came about, the progress of their joint hypercar project, and why Aston Martin has chosen to embrace F1… Q: Andy, your presence at the Singapore Grand Prix fuelled the rumours [now confirmed] that Aston Martin will be the title sponsor of Red Bull Racing from 2018 onwards… Andy Palmer: Ha, I was in Singapore to see Duran Duran. But yes, obviously I was in Singapore for a reason. I wanted to tick off two things on my list: I was talking to [Red Bull team principal] Christian (Horner) about our participation with the team next year. We do like Formula One – it is good for our brand. As Valkyrie – our cooperation with Red Bull – is evolving, how can we leverage not just the supercar, but also the involvement of Formula One technology in that car? Naturally there is a propensity for trying to do more with them. How much is subject to negotiations. On the other hand, for 2021 there is a potentially a rule change in engines. We are an engine maker and if the rules change sufficiently that it makes sense – that the costs come down so that a company like us can afford to do an engine – we’d like to do the engine. We would like to be the provider of an independent engine to F1 with our principal customer – that, of course, being our friends at Red Bull. And between these two things draw the line. Today we are a sponsor and innovations partner – maybe this will grow a bit, but to what extent depends on the direction that F1 takes. Q: Among the latest projects for Aston Martin is the Valkyrie – a cooperation with Red Bull Racing and other partners. With its F1 know-how, it might be the ultimate ‘hypercar’. What can you tell us about the Aston Martin and Red Bull cooperation – how it all came about? AP: Well, in a previous life (meaning Infinity) I worked already together with Christian and Adrian (Newey) and Adrian wanted to do a road car. I am trying to transform Aston Martin into a world-class company. I need a halo – a symbol of the change – and Adrian wants to do a symbol. We know how to design a car and put it into production – Adrian knows how to engineer it – and we gave it a name. Valkyrie is quite a sexy name, which basically means a handmaiden of the gods who chose the heroes for the battleground. The chosen ones!

"Our history – our DNA – goes back to racing... Formula One takes it all to a different level" - Andy Palmer

Q: Who came up with the name? AP: Actually I did, surprisingly. Normally it is not me who does that. Valkyrie is mine! (Laughs) We have the history of using mostly names for our cars that start with a V. I flicked through a dictionary and thought: ‘Wow, Valkyrie sounds cool.’ Q: And even though production hasn’t started yet, presumably the car is a sell-out… AP: Yes. Even in Singapore people were approaching me asking if they can get one. Unfortunately the answer is no. And they are not cheap. It is only 150 cars for the road and 25 for the track. The good news is that we are a company that is growing – a company that will do a lot of cool products in the future. So hopefully all those disappointed by not getting a Valkyrie will have a chance to get something in the future. Valkyrie can be a door-opener for a lot of future projects. Q: Mercedes have recently launched their own F1-inspired hypercar, the Project One. How much did Mercedes’ involvement in F1 trigger your own decision to come in? AP: When we made the decision to do Valkyrie we didn’t know that Mercedes was working on the Project One. There had been rumours, but we didn’t take any consideration of them. That they are bringing Project One – which is a fantastic car, but from a technical perspective in a different place – leads journalists to compare the two. And that is interesting. It will make for an interesting head-to-head road test. Ours looks like something out of this world. Ours is Formula One from the point of view of chassis and aerodynamics – with a huge engine in the back. They have chosen to go down the road of a relatively conservative body with a Formula One powertrain, which is interesting – and it will be interesting to have the two side by side. I like our concept!

"Valkyrie is F1 from the point of view of chassis and aerodynamics – with a huge engine in the back" - Andy Palmer