One of the bosses of the Aston Martin Formula One team said he was in his “dream job” as he prepares for his team’s home Grand Prix on Sunday.

Andy Stephenson has spent more than 30 years in the sport, starting with the Jordan motor racing team in the late 80s.

He is now the sporting director of Silverstone-based Aston Martin, which returned to Formula One in 2021.

The 56-year-old said: “When I was at school, I went to the careers office [and] said ‘I want to work with fast cars and travel the world’.” He said he was told he “won’t find a job like that, but fortunately I did”.

After returning to the sport, Aston Martin leapt from the midfield to be regular podium contenders at the start of 2023.

In 2024, the team have had several top-six qualifying positions for lead driver Fernando Alonso and sit fifth in the constructors’ championship after 11 of 24 races.

Stephenson said that although there have been significant changes in technology since he started in Formula One, “the aim is still exactly the same”.

“We want to go racing; we want to win races; we want to be competitive; and we eventually want to win World Championships,” he said.

He said once the Silverstone site in Northamptonshire is fully open the team will have “close to 1,000 staff”.

“It’s certainly changed from the day I first walked into the factory owned by Eddie Jordan, where there were eight of us,” he said.

Stephenson, who is from Northampton, began as an engineer and now represents the team in discussions with the sports governing body, the FIA.

He said: “It is a lot of fun and has a lot of challenges; it’s not all champagne and trophies, but something that’s really, really enjoyable and a job that I love.”

The sporting director said Silverstone was a circuit “that’s very special to my heart”.

He said: “My mum used to work here as a young girl at the weekend selling burgers and hot dogs and I have been working here ever since, so it is really special.

“When you see a Formula One car at full pace around Silverstone, it still sends shivers down my spine.”