Luxury car brand Aston Martin has expanded its reach by becoming a sponsor of a Formula 1 team.
The Warwickshire-based manufacturer has teamed up with Red Bull to become its title sponsor and innovation partner.
The team will compete as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in the 2018 season, building on the companies' existing partnership which already produced the sold-out Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar.
It will yield future products and a new Advanced Performance Centre that will open on the Red Bull Racing campus in Milton Keynes later this year.
Aston Martin said it would also look at the opportunity to be involved in the team's power unit from 2021 after being asked by the sport's governing body the FIA to join discussions on future engines.
Chief executive Andy Palmer said: "Title partnership is the next logical step for our innovation partnership with Red Bull Racing.
"We are enjoying the global brand awareness that a revitalized Formula 1 provides.
"The power unit discussions are of interest to us but only if the circumstances are right.
"We are not about to enter an engine war with no restrictions in cost or dynamometer hours but we believe that if the FIA can create the right environment we would be interested in getting involved."
The relationship between Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing and US motorsports team AF Racing began last year after the companies combined F1 technology and Aston Martin's sports car design to produce the Valkyrie hypercar.
Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, added: "Our innovation partnership with Aston Martin has been a pioneering project from day one.
"Having conceived and created the remarkably successful Valkyrie together in 2016, we extended our relationship this year and are now delighted to further strengthen the partnership and see the team competing as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in 2018."
Last month, Aston Martin announced plans for £500 million in investment and trade with Japan.
The package includes plans for exports worth more than £400 million, boosted by new sports cars and the introduction of the company's first Sports Utility Vehicle, the DBX.
Aston Martin will buy more than £70 million in components from Japanese suppliers including Bridgestone, Denso, Mitsubishi and Yazaki.
The firm will open an Aston Martin Meta Technology and Luxury Accelerator in Japan, to be up and running in 2018 and will also invest in a brand centre in Tokyo.
