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Aston Martin working out of “Portakabins” ahead of F1 factory move

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The new Silverstone headquarters will be ready soon, with some office operations due to relocate by the end of this month. Meanwhile, wind tunnels will influence car design from 2025 onwards.

Aston performance director Tom McCullough believes the current multi-site setup is “disjointed” as the technical team’s colleagues are in different “Portakabins”, so teams will benefit most from the wider communication the new factory will allow.

Referring to the nearing completion of the £200m factory project, McCullough said: “It’s really exciting. We’re in the final stages of figuring out who’s sitting at which desk and what we’re going to do.

“We’re really looking forward to that because we’re kind of disconnected now in Portakabins and in separate buildings. All the techs aren’t sitting together.

“(The new building) is amazing. It makes you smile when you walk around it.”

McCullough added that the immediate move to reposition the division would benefit the team, which currently sits second in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull.

He said: “It makes a bigger difference than people realise. It’s just communication. Hitting people at the same coffee stop…you just brush shoulders with people you work closely with.

Renderings of Aston Martin's Silverstone factory

Renderings of Aston Martin’s Silverstone factory

Photo: Aston Martin Racing

“Right now, we’re in different buildings, maybe even in different locations. That would be really nice.”

Aston Martin also has a new wind tunnel under construction, although this infrastructure upgrade won’t be ready until 2025, a year after rival McLaren’s new facility.

Given that the kit is currently using the Mercedes wind tunnel at Brackley, McCullough believes the “extra flexibility” will be one of the biggest advantages of the new configuration.

He explained: “It’s definitely better on site. Having your own wind tunnel means that within the (aerodynamic testing limits) regulations, you can use it when you need to.

“If you have a problem or you learn something, you can stop, go back, generate something new, think about something, go back and open it up again.

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“It gives you extra flexibility. You can really work seven days a week.

“At the moment, we have limited time in the tunnels we use, so you have to be very nervous, you can’t react too much.

“Also, on set, if something goes wrong, the guy who draws the parts is right next to you in the building, which definitely helps with communication.”

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Pit crew Red Bull show world-class performance again in Monaco

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For Red Bull Racing, the Monaco Grand Prix is ​​a race with two faces. Max Verstappen won convincingly, but team-mate Sergio Perez saw his chances of a good position come to naught after an accident in qualifying. However, the Mexicans did top the list. Red Bull’s pit crew changed four tires on Perez’s RB19 in top speed.

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The battle for the title is over: Verstappen is F1 World Champion 2023

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For those still hoping for an exciting world title, there’s bad news: the title race is over. Sergio Perez ruined his last chance to cause trouble for Max Verstappen in Monaco. Now only Verstappen can throw it away, but given the Dutchman’s character and the game ahead, that’s unlikely.

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