New project at Silverstone is key to the success of Aston Martin F1

Aston Martin may languish in the wrong half of the Formula 1 Motorsport Constructors’ Championship, but Lawrence Stroll intends to change that with a new £ 200 million facility at Silverstone.

The Canadian tycoon, who supports the Grand Prix outfit, and his friend Lord Bamford, the multi-billionaire chairman of the JCB excavator group, co-sponsor of the Formula 1 team and co-investor with Stroll at the listed car maker Aston Martin Lagonda, have yesterday inserted the first ceremonial spade into the ground of an 18-month construction project.

Otmar Szafnauer, CEO and Team Principal of Aston Martin Cognizant, was accompanied by Lord Bamford, Chairman of JCB, and Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin, at the groundbreaking ceremony

The new 37,000 m² facility – as large as five soccer fields – will be the headquarters of the motorsport team and will bundle various of its own premises. The new production facility is opposite the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire, the home of British motorsport.

The Aston Martin team is completely separate from the automaker, even though they are joint owners. The motorsport team is owned by Stroll, who is also the largest shareholder in Aston Martin Lagonda. The automaker pays the team £ 25 million annually to bear its name.

The project will be the UK’s first completely new Formula 1 factory in 17 years after the McLaren Technology Center is built in Woking, Surrey. “It’s a brand new, state-of-the-art, purpose built campus,” said Stroll. “It will fulfill my ambitions to fight for world championships.”