The Aston Martin team has confirmed that work has begun on the construction of the second building comprising their brand new state of the art headquarters at Silverstone.
The first of a total of three new buildings detailed in the team's ambitious infrastructure project opened earlier this year just before the British Grand Prix was held nearby.
Once that was completed, work started on demolish the old factory on the site, which dated back to the days of Jordan GP in the early 90s. That's now been done and builders have started on the foundations of the new Building Two.
This will house the team's new simulator, as well as a number of staff facilities including a restaurant and gym. Once that's completed, attention will turn to constructing the brand new wind tunnel.
This week, Aston Martin project director Guy Austin gave the team's official website details of where the project stood and what laid in store ahead.
“The bolts are already cast into the foundation pads of Building Two, and ready for the steel to be laid," he reported. “Our simulator will be incredibly advanced, it's the next generation of F1 infrastructure and it’ll be here soon.
“Each of our three buildings will be linked together by an elevated bridge at first-floor level so that people can traverse each one without braving the unpredictable British weather!" he continued.
Austin said that high ceilings and large panes of glass meant that "there will be plenty of natural light to provide a healthier and more inspiring working environment."
Staff who had been working in the old factory have been temporarily deposed to the new Building One, but will be on the move again in the New Year if all goes to plan.
© Aston Martin F1
“We’re going to start moving people here in January 2024 but it will still be a construction site because the wind tunnel is the next element," Austin explained, looking forward starting on the new wind tunnel.
“The wind tunnel is a crucial part of our new Technology Campus," he said. "Optimising car aerodynamics is a key ingredient to success in F1.
“At the moment we rent time in somebody else’s wind tunnel, and because it’s their wind tunnel, we can only test at certain times that are not necessarily the most convenient or when we really want to do a test.
“Having our own wind tunnel on site is important because it means that - within the rules - we can test when we want to test," he added. "We don’t have to put a scale model of our car in a van and take it elsewhere. We can make better use of the time we’re allocated to testing in the tunnel.
© Aston Martin F1
"This area will include the control room for the wind tunnel with six engineers sitting in tiered rows like we have in Mission Control in Building One.”
One thing is for sure - this is certainly not your average building project, and is working to almost impossible level of precision. “The facility is built to unbelievably fine tolerances, which is quite complex."
It's the pinnacle of Lawrence Stroll's plans for Aston Martin since he saved the old Force India team from administration in 2018.
The team caught the eye with a sudden improvement of form at the start of the current season with a strong of back-to-back performances for new signing Fernando Alonso, but has since fallen back in the latter half of 2023.
The team had blamed that in a wrong turn in development, making the new headquarters - said to be costing £200 million - a crucial component of their plans for the future in terms of competing for race wins and titles.
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