Aston Martin isn’t leading the way on track, but it certainly is off of it. That is evident due to its state-of-the-art Formula 1 factory. Motorsport Week, along with other select media, were invited to check out the new facility ahead of the previous weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Aston’s Formula 1 home shares the same entrance road as the Silverstone circuit and is built on the same plot of land that Jordan Grand Prix broke ground on in the early 1990s. Through the team’s various guises the Silverstone factory survived, the Aston Martin era of the Northamptonshire-based squad is altogether different from those that preceded it.
Owner Lawrence Stroll is committed to making Aston Martin a World Championship calibre team. That is why Fernando Alonso was signed as a driver and why the likes of Dan Fallows, Tom McCullough and now Enrico Cardile left their respective employers to don British Racing Green.
The team is still piecing things together on track and hasn’t quite got the performance to match the likes of Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes or Ferrari. Aston Martin showcased signs that it could be ahead of schedule in the nascent rounds last term when it emerged as the all-conquering Red Bull’s most consistent contender and Alonso began his venture in British Racing Green with six podiums in the opening eight races alone to mark his individual return to racing at the top.
However, a misguided development path and concept changes from rivals saw Aston Martin slip back to where it stands at present in the Constructors’ Championship: fifth place. But while the Silverstone-based squad is still recovering from further setbacks with updates not delivering the intended inroads, Aston Martin is making the required gains outside to become a challenger.
Stroll Sr has invested mass sums into the team since leading a consortium that took over the independent operation, then known as Force India, in mid-2018. The Canadian billionaire’s lucrative and hands-on input has extended to authorising a £200 million-plus refurbishment. The outright ambition? To boast the headquarters befitting a title-winning calibre outfit, right in time for when a power unit partnership with Honda begins when new regulations come in 2026.
“He wants to be up at the front,” Lance Stroll, Lawrence’s son and Aston Martin F1 driver, said at Silverstone. “He’s putting his heart and passion and ambition into the project. I mean, giving everyone at Silverstone all the tools to bring something special to the race track. That’s what he’s given everyone at Silverstone, an opportunity to do that and the tools to do that.”
Meanwhile, a two-time champion like Alonso, who has experienced false promises several times before in his glittering and protracted F1 career, has chosen to remain with Aston Martin on a multi-term basis despite the team’s stagnant progress. The Spaniard has explained how influential Stroll Sr’s ambitions have been to him committing his prospects to the team.
“I think different to other teams, we have a great leader with Lawrence,” Alonso underlined. “We have not only the owner of the team, but also a very extremely competitive person behind and we will fix things quicker than other teams I think thanks to him.”
The factory is built in three segments, connected via an elevated walkway. Building one (pictured) opened in 2023 and houses design and manufacturing. It’s slick, clean and vast. Building two, set to open imminently, features a state of the art gearbox dyno among other things, but its primary function will be staff wellness. With a record-equalling 24 rounds now commonplace on the calendar comprising gruelling trips across the globe, ensuring that the people within the team remain in good spirits is essential to ensuring optimal performance is extracted across all the departments. That’s why a gym and restaurant take centre stage, looking out over the miniature Silverstone-shaped running track located outside.
Building three is where the bulk of Aston’s hopes lie, however, housing a state-of-the-art laser-guided wind tunnel and aerodynamic modelling facility.
Until its own wind tunnel is operational, Aston Martin will continue to use the Mercedes wind tunnel facility in nearby Brackley. The German marque’s facility is by no means shabby, but Aston Martin will be hoping its brand new, tech-leading aero testing weapon will usher it to the front of the grid. Not only that, but by bringing everything in house, Aston Martin will streamline its design, testing and manufacturing process, the benefits of which cannot be understated.
But from walking around the new facility, which was predominantly bare as it awaits its new inhabitants, one thing was abundantly clear: Stroll is putting his money where his mouth is and Aston Martin means serious business. However, as always in F1, the progress will be evident in the coming years on the race track when the stopwatch pits the green-liveried Aston Martin cars up against the machines that those from Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes have built.
Source link : https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/07/16/inside-aston-martin-series-leading-f1-factory/
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Publish date : 2024-07-24 04:14:45
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