As Aston Martin gets set to return to the Formula One grid for the first time in over 60 years, we’re bringing fans into the heart of the story. Your passion and support drives our team forward, and in this new series, we’re giving you a platform to share your I / AM Story.
For Ankur, living in India, a childhood fascination grew into a life-long passion and an eventual love for Team Silverstone. Here, in his own words, Ankur shares his I / AM Story.
When I was a child, I used to wonder how cars and other machines worked, I was fascinated to learn more about the vehicles around me - to the point that I remember being told off by my parents for dismantling new toys to see how they worked!
My love for cars grew over the years and as a teenager, I loved Formula One, MotoGP and NASCAR and read about them in magazines from the store nearby. My walls were filled with posters of drivers and cars.
I knew that I wanted to connect with the racing world and I decided to apply for an engineering degree, which fuelled my love of Formula One. The more I learned about technology, the R&D and the design, the more my love and respect grew.
I think Formula One is often about the incredible sound and the look of the cars, but personally, it was innovation and maximising potential that excited me. Formula One has always been about state-of-the-art technology and I love watching the way the teams work to create the car package. I'm always amazed by the milliseconds that decide races and the teamwork it takes to do it. We're lucky as fans to be able to watch!
I loved that I had an instant connection with Force India through my country, seeing the Indian flag on the car made me proud.
As a fan, my love of the team began when Spyker became Force India and the best moment was when it claimed a podium in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix with Giancarlo Fisichella. It brought a smile to my face and so many other fans around the world. It really made the world take notice of Team Silverstone. That same feeling came to me when Sergio Perez won last year's Sakhir Grand Prix for Racing Point.
I loved that I had an instant connection with Force India through my country and seeing the Indian flag on a car, taking part in the most challenging and technology-driven races in the world, made me proud. Later, I got the opportunity to meet the drivers and team members and felt so at home as everyone was so helpful, welcoming and supportive.
The team has always been great to its fans, so I'm really happy to see it continuing in the Aston Martin era. The team continues to be a part of my life – weekends without Formula One feel incomplete!
The history is so important to me - both Team Silverstone and Aston Martin. You can see in the team that so many people have been here for the entire Formula One journey.
Aston Martin is such an iconic British brand - and it's James Bond's favourite car! The combination of Team Silverstone and Aston Martin now means we have a four-time World Champion in Sebastian who's done it all before. I'm really excited by this new era as Aston Martin is so recognisable and I think in countries such as my own it'll help expand our fanbase further.
I'm really looking forward to our 'green' future - not just in colour! Formula One is heading towards a more sustainable future and I think Aston Martin can play a big part in it. On track, we have a strong line-up and plenty of potential too. Combined with the passionate fans, I think we can write a golden chapter for Aston Martin!
All entries have been edited for clarity.
