Iconic F1 base built by Eddie Jordan to be knocked down by wrecking ball today

F1: A lap of the British Grand Prix

An F1 factory which housed iconic F1 teams such as Jordan, Force India and Aston Martin is set to be demolished today. Martin Whitmarsh told Adam Cooper that the headquarters will be taken down on Monday after 30 years of F1 history.

Aston Martin has replaced the building with a state-of-the-art factory located just down the road. Based just a stone’s throw from Silverstone, the hub was built in 1991 by Eddie Jordan.

The team was sold in 2005 but rebranded squads kept the building as their base. Midland, Spyker and then Force India used the hub before Lawrence Stroll took over the team in 2018.

They continued to use the facility under the Racing Point branding and then as Aston Martin but Stroll always had plans to move to a new facility. Guy Austin, project manager for the construction of Aston Martin’s new Silverstone base had already confirmed the building would be axed.

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Speaking last winter, Austin said: “I looked after design and construction [of the original factory] for Eddie Jordan back in 1990. So what’s the plan here? Well, since we moved into Building One, we’re going to knock this over next summer, which will be a sad day in many ways.”

The British manufacturer finally moved into its new 400,000-square-foot base at the end of May. The centre will be split into three chunks with new buildings set to come on stream at later dates.

The main building is where the cars will be designed while a second space for a wind tunnel is set to open in 2024.

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A third building will be an employee and events space with all three areas connected by bridges. The new development is the first all-new F1 factory in almost 20 years.

It is estimated the development has cost the team a staggering £200 million and is part of Aston Martin’s ambition to reach the top of the sport. The marque has an ambitious goal of challenging for the F1 world championship by 2025.

Progress has already been made on track with Fernando Alonso taking six podiums this year. However, the team’s new wind tunnel could be the ingredient needed to propel them the extra mile.

Stroll senior explained: “I think the target for the wind tunnel is to be online in the middle of 2024. We are hoping that that will have at least some contribution for the 2025 car and, depending on how the commissioning of that goes, that will probably be the first car to have a significant impact.”

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