Aston Martin’s F1 vision is driven by more than speed

When Aston Martin returned to Formula 1 four years ago, the goal wasn’t just the top step of the podium — it was something bigger. Lawrence Stroll’s long-term vision for a championship-winning team has been well-publicized, but there’s another plan in motion at the AMR Technology Campus, steered by Chief Marketing Officer, Rob Bloom. He joined Aston Martin from McLaren in 2021 with a clear objective: to build the most culturally relevant team on the F1 grid.

“This is one of the most exciting projects in world sport right now,” Bloom told Motorsport.com. “We’ve gone from 350 people to 900 people in four years. It is a remarkable transformation of a team that has a very clear vision, which is to win in Formula 1.” Heritage-rich teams like Ferrari or Williams can lean on legacy, while Red Bull made its name as the paddock’s party disruptor in the 2000s. For Aston Martin – a 112-year-old luxury brand – Bloom saw an opportunity to chart a new course that embraced fandom, community, and culture.

“We were a start-up in so many ways because we had this opportunity to do F1 differently,” he explained. “We set ourselves up as a brand as much as a sports team, and there’s not many people who are thinking that way.” That mindset led to an in-house creative structure more commonly found in fashion houses than in the paddock. “Our direction and creative identity are incredibly considered,” he added. “If we want to tell stories through the lens of the Aston Martin style, we need talent who can do that in a sophisticated way.”

The Aston Martin aesthetic is visually stunning and consistent with a legacy automotive brand, but inclusivity is a key pillar of the team. The notion almost sounds incongruous given the average cost of the sports cars beloved by James Bond. “We talk about ourselves as an inclusive-exclusive brand – perhaps the most inclusive-exclusive brand in world sport,” Bloom said. 

The team’s deliberate efforts to broaden its reach beyond the traditional motorsport fan base includes a pioneering embrace of influencers and platforms like TikTok. The social media admin has also frequently popped up in the comments section of fan videos, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the F1 community. “Fans are everything in this sport. I don’t think we should be talking about opening or closing doors to anyone — I think, who shut the door in the first place?” Bloom said. “Sport should fundamentally be available to everyone … The biggest mistake people make is thinking that sport exists over here and TikTok as a platform exists over there. We like to think that F1 exists on TikTok,” he continued. “The conversations, the noise and the sheer joy that’s happening within the comments section on TikTok … that’s where our sport exists and where so many fans exist.” 

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In addition to the content created in-house, Bloom’s team has tapped multiple social media creators over the past four years to spend time in the paddock. “We facilitate their ability to tell an even richer story to their audiences, and maybe do it in a slightly different way that we would,” he explained. “There’s a humility to brands knowing we don’t have all the answers. Sometimes it’s just about unlocking access to people who can tell stories in amazing ways.”

That same thinking has shaped Aston Martin’s real-world activations. “We’ve recognized that fans have broader interests than just motorsport, and there are these cultural crossovers with music, sport and fashion,” Bloom said. During the Miami Grand Prix, the team partnered with buzzy Australian DJ Dom Dolla for a 700-person private set at their Wynwood pop-up – free for members of the I / AM community. Two weeks later, Aston Martin sponsored the Santan Cup football tournament in Monaco, an event founded by UK rapper Dave, who has been connected to the team since performing at their 2021 car launch.

On the merchandise front, they’ve “audaciously leaned into drop culture” with premium offerings, including a collaboration with the Rolling Stones. “They’re an iconic British band with an unapologetic edge,” Bloom said. “We took over their Carnaby Street store, brought in the drivers, the show car, the simulator. It’s about creating special moments of joy. We want to reward our fans with experiences that they don’t have to be inside a hospitality suite at a race track to enjoy.” 

Fundamentally, Bloom is in the business of understanding modern fandom. “We want to show fans that this is how the sport can love you back,” he said. It’s a marketing strategy that doesn’t rely too heavily on its drivers – Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso – to operate successfully. Where Lando Norris has become inextricably linked to McLaren, and Mercedes is still re-shaping its identity following Lewis Hamilton’s departure, Aston Martin is playing a broader game. 

“We’ll always recognize that the drivers have an integral role to play,” Bloom said. “But we were the first team to coin the notion of a driver squad.” That group includes Jessica Hawkins, Tina Hausmann, Felipe Drugovich, Stoffel Vandoorne, and Pedro de la Rosa – each bringing something different to the team’s storytelling toolkit.

It also opens the door for engineers and creatives – like design icon Adrian Newey, featured in the team’s “Project Pencil” launch campaign – to step into the spotlight. “First and foremost, we’re here to compete and win on track,” Bloom said. “But we’re also building a brand that’s relevant, modern, meaningful, and genuine. And I honestly believe we’re just getting started.”