21 July 2022 – Castellet, France: A century on from its racing debut, Aston Martin marked the centenary of its maiden race at the 1922 French Grand Prix.
Ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel had the piloted TT1 – affectionately nicknamed ‘Green Pea’ – around Circuit Paul Ricard.
The cars were built by founder Lionel Martin following a commission by wealthy young motor racing driver and pioneer Count Louis Zborowski, who invested £10,000 in their construction and the development of an entirely new 16-valve twin overhead cam four-cylinder race engine. TT1 and TT2 were originally intended for the 1922 Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) event, but a delay saw them instead make the marque’s international racing debut at the French Grand Prix on the 15 July 1922, with Zborowski piloting TT1.
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin Team driver said: “It was an incredible honour to drive this car, exactly 100 years on from it last taking to the starting line at the French Grand Prix.
“Green Pea holds a very special place in Aston Martin’s heritage, and you can almost feel that century of history beneath your fingertips when at the wheel.
For the French Grand Prix Aston Martin raced with the original Aston Martin logo from 1913 on the nose of its cars, mirroring the marque featured on Green Pea.
The first Aston Martin Grand Prix car, featuring a 1,486cc engine unit, was good for around 55bhp at 4,200 rpm. The car – built with a body conforming to the voiturette style – weighed in at 750kg, 45kg lighter than today’s AMR22 challenger. It had a top speed of 85mph and carried two seats, one off-set, as per the Grand Prix regulations of the time, to accommodate the riding mechanic who was an essential member of the team not least because of his job to pressurise the fuel tank via a hand pump.
The experience was sufficiently exhilarating for the fledgling team, based at Abingdon Road, Kensington, to continue their Grand Prix adventure and blaze a trail for Aston Martin’s future success in international motor racing.