Mercedes unveiled the next stage of developing their current Brackley headquarters into a state-of-the-art and sustainable Formula 1 campus for the future.
The F1 factory in Brackley used to be occupied by Honda and British American Racing, then Brawn GP before Mercedes took over the team in 2010 upon their return to the sport.
Mercedes revealed that work on their headquarters has been underway since 2017, as they have executed “30 different projects to reshape our design and production facilities in the factory, all while continuing to operate the team in the world’s most demanding motorsport series”.
“It has been a complex juggling act as departments have relocated around the site to enable works to progress. The Clean Rooms, Race Bays, Machine Shop and Subassembly Workshops have now moved into cutting-edge new facilities,” the team said on their website.
Mercedes also revealed that they would be purchasing “adjoining land parcels” for the upcoming phase of the development.
That would aid in site expansion, as the statement explained: “The construction of showcase facilities for employee health and wellbeing, new sustainability infrastructure and significantly improved vehicle flows to enable the pedestrianisation of much of the site. The result is a remarkable parkland campus fit for the winning F1 team of the future.”
Development done at an astonishing pace
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff commented: “Our campus was originally built to accommodate 350 people. Today, we are at 1,250. The development of the campus over the last five years was done at an astonishing pace.
“Now, what we are planning to do is to expand with multiple new buildings and creating a modern style campus. There will be breakout areas, restaurants, and a state-of-the-art gym and marketing building,” he added.
Mercedes have completed the outright purchase of the Brackley campus and will be spending $37-Million on the upcoming stage of development.
The team explained: “The developments will include the creation of a new Health and Wellbeing Centre, a gateway Marketing Building at the entrance to the site – enabling further expansion of the design office facilities in the main technical centre – and a brand-new parking structure, part of which will be shared with Brackley Town Football Club.
“This will offer matchday improvements for the community and enable a nearly ‘car-free’ environment within the campus. Furthermore, the parking structure will feature a full solar array, to enable charging of over 70 electric vehicles through our own renewable energy infrastructure.”
Commitment to Net Zero targets and local community
Mercedes insist the new buildings will be “net zero operations” powered by “100% renewable energy from onsite and offsite sources” and revealed that they would be targeting the use of “reusable and recyclable materials” where and when possible, targeting to source 30% of the material from local sources.
“The new facilities will also be more efficient in how we use them: we are aiming for a 50% reduction in water consumption per person per day and to achieve greater than 60% recycling of office waste,” the team said.
“As well as being state-of-the-art buildings, they will simultaneously reflect our commitment to state-of-the-art sustainability. This will be further emphasised by increasing habitats and increasing ecological value around the site.”
“This is all being done for our people,” Wolff added. “Here, form follows function – not the other way round. It’s all being done to create a great place to work and spend time. We want it to become its own little village, with all the amenities and benefits that you would expect from a Silicon Valley style environment.”
Mercedes insist their development of their Brackley campus will support the local community, something they claim to have been done since the site’s opening in 1998.
“From sponsoring the Brackley Firework display to supporting the local food bank and community groups, and facilitating school visits and presentations, we want to create a legacy for our team that goes beyond the racetrack,” the team said.
“The new site will comfortably accommodate every employee’s mobility needs, eliminating parking bottlenecks at peak times of the year. Likewise, it futureproofs the site for potential expansion and job creation, as we have enjoyed in recent years through the growth of our non-F1 Applied Science activities,” the statement explained.
“Together with our community, we are creating a vision for success in the years ahead. Like everything we do, it is driven by our unwavering commitment to excellence, and we are putting Brackley firmly on the global sporting map,” the eight-time Constructors’ Champions concluded.