A Chinese proverb goes, ‘Good things come in pairs’. It is turning out to be exactly true for Canadian entrepreneur Lawrence Stroll lately. One, his team, Aston Martin, as per his vision, is finally competing for the top spot. And second, Aston Martin’s major sponsor, Aramco, recently posted a record net income. Things certainly could not have started on a better foot for the Silverstone-based team.

The P3 finish for Fernando Alonso did not just open the doors for Aston Martin’s on-track success, but off it as well. Soon after the Spaniard’s heroics in Bahrain, Aston’s share price grew by 15%. Thus, the company added close to $300 million within 24 hours. In this newfound success, there was an unlikely beneficiary- Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff. Owing to his stake in the company, Toto’s fortunes grew by $3 million overnight while his team suffered an embarrassing night. But let’s keep that aside for now and shift our focus back to Aramco’s groundbreaking year.

Speaking during a Sunday earnings call, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, “This is probably the highest net income ever recorded in the corporate world.” The $161 billion net income figure certainly is the highest figure ever for an oil and natural gas company, as per CNBC.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” Nasser added. “If you consider China opening up, the pickup in jet fuels and the very limited spare capacity, we are cautiously optimistic in the short to mid-term [that] markets will remain tightly balanced.”

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Given how much the Saudi-based oil company has grown in one year, $2.9 billion worth Stroll (as per Forbes) would hope to get some much-needed funding after pumping in $300 million for the team’s new state-of-the-art facility.

Lawrence Stroll earns former F1 champ’s respect as $300 million investment pays off

In 2021, Lawrence opened up on his vision for team Aston Martin. That vision was to see his team lift the championship trophy in 4 or 5 years. Many ridiculed his comments back then, not realizing what the future was holding for the Silverstone team. Stroll pumped in much-needed cash for a new facility that will sport an in-house wind tunnel. Moreover, he invested in the right personnel. He brought in Red Bull’s former aerodynamics chief, Dan Fallows, and experienced drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Damon Hill reacted to their newfound success. He said, “Lawrence Stroll put his money where it belongs and he built this team thinking of it as a future top team. Everyone told him ‘Lawrence, you know you’re going to lose a lot of money’. But he proved everyone wrong.”

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Competing with Red Bull, at least for 2023, seems like a far-fetched dream. Do you think it is plausible for Aston Martin to fight for the 2nd spot with Ferrari and Mercedes? Regardless of whether they can achieve that at the end of the year, they certainly have made leaps of progress. For that, the entire team deserves all the credit.