Motor racing-Storied ex-McLaren boss Whitmarsh building up Aston Martin for F1 success

By Abhishek Takle

(Reuters) - Aston Martin’s Formula One chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said leading the British manufacturer to title success would rank as the greatest achievement of his storied career.

The Briton, who spent 24 years with McLaren winning a combined 10 drivers' and constructors’ titles before being ousted in 2014, returned to F1 in his current role last October.

The target set by Canadian billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll is clear - win the championship. 

"For me, to see a great brand, Aston Martin, up on the top step of the Formula One podium will be incredibly satisfying," Whitmarsh, still McLaren’s last title-winning team boss having won the 2008 title with Lewis Hamilton, told Reuters in an interview.

"Frankly that’s why I’m here," added the 63-year-old, who after leaving McLaren spent a stint as chief executive of Olympic yachtsman Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup challenge. 

Stroll, who bought the Silverstone-based team out of administration in 2018 when it was called Force India and rebranded it Aston Martin last year, has big ambitions for the British marque, which finished seventh in the overall standings last year.

He has set the team the target of fighting for the championship within five years and is building a new factory and wind tunnel. 

The 2022 season is the second year of that plan.

‘ADDICTIVE TOPIC’

Hiring Whitmarsh, together with other top names from rival teams as well as four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, underscores those ambitions.

As chief executive of the newly-created Aston Martin Performance Technologies, which includes the F1 team, Whitmarsh has a wide remit. 

But, even though the British marque signed former BMW motorsport head Mike Krack as its new F1 team principal, his