The new Aston facility has been tuned to the requirements of the cost cap, and thus an ideal headcount of around 650-700. The problem with all F1 facilities built in previous decades was that staff numbers kept outgrowing the original capacity.
The whole exercise is being overseen by project manager Guy Austin. Previously with construction consultancy Ridge Partners, and now working directly with Aston, he has long been known as the number one choice for anyone in the UK motor sport industry with a building project.
He was involved in the creation of the original Jordan factory, and has subsequently undertaken projects for clients such as Stewart/Red Bull, BAR/Honda/Mercedes, Benetton/Renault, TWR/Arrows, Lola, Prodrive and Xtrac. Aston will be the seventh wind tunnel that he’s overseen.
He reports to Stroll and Aston Martin Performance Technology boss Martin Whitmarsh, who was a key player at McLaren when the MTC was created, and thus knows its strengths and weaknesses well.
One new Aston Martin factory, three new buildings
When Austin came on board the plan was to create one building but, including the wind tunnel, it’s now become a much bigger three-stage project.
“He’s just so excited by what he sees and how he sees it coming on,” he says of the always demanding Stroll. “He can’t wait for the team to get in here. It is a game-changer for the team, it’s going to be amazing.
“Because of that there’s a lot of impatience from senior management to get us in here, so that we can work much more effectively than we’re working at the moment. I guess that’s the most pressure I feel, to keep pushing things along, to make sure that we’re on programme.”
The new main building, closest to the Dadford Road and thus the circuit, is 160m long. It houses the race team, design, manufacturing and all the admin departments such as commercial, legal and HR. It already has its roof on and is in the process of being kitted out internally. The schedule calls for the move to be made over a weekend next May — in addition to the three grands prix that month.