Ferrari stays solely F1 group with no UK base

February 5, 2025

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Audi-Sauber opens a base in the UK
Audi-Sauber can be shifting to England by opening a brand new base to recruit high-profile engineers and shut the hole with different F1 groups as shortly as potential. This determination, made by challenge supervisor Mattia Binotto, was additionally taken to deal with an financial challenge, not only a logistical one. For a lot of British engineers, relocating to Hinwil (a small city about 30 km from Zurich) is commonly a family-related problem. Moreover, Sauber spends extra on workers salaries than different F1 groups primarily based within the UK and Italy on account of Switzerland’s excessive price of residing. Because of this, Audi had requested a price range cap exemption from the FIA beginning in 2026, however to date with out success.

Ferrari, the one F1 group with no UK base
Opening a technical middle in England, particularly within the so-called Midlands Motor Valley (the realm between Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Buckinghamshire within the south-central a part of the nation), may partially compensate for this financial and logistical drawback by attracting higher-profile engineers and technicians. Nonetheless, Sauber’s transfer can be important for one more cause: till now, it was the one group, alongside Ferrari, with no UK base. With Mattia Binotto’s determination, the Maranello group stays the only real F1 group with no manufacturing unit or operational middle within the English Motor Valley. However the place precisely are the F1 groups headquartered? Let’s discover out.

McLaren

Headquarters: Woking, United Kingdom
The reigning Constructors’ Champion, McLaren, doesn’t develop an engine however is a Mercedes buyer group. All chassis and aerodynamic parts not outsourced to third-party suppliers are produced on the historic Woking headquarters, a city of about 60,000 residents in Surrey.

Ferrari

Headquarters: Maranello, Italy
There’s no want to say that Ferrari, the historic Italian automotive model and producer, is predicated in Italy. The primary manufacturing unit is, in fact, within the legendary Maranello, a city of fewer than 20,000 individuals in Modena province, globally well-known as the house of the Prancing Horse. Right here, all Ferrari vehicles are constructed, together with F1 single-seaters and racing vehicles for different motorsport competitions. Nonetheless, this hasn’t all the time been the case: between 1987 and 1991, Ferrari outsourced some F1 design actions to Guildford, England, on the request of then-technical director John Barnard, who was reluctant to relocate to Emilia. The middle was shut down after some failed initiatives and Barnard’s subsequent departure from Ferrari.

Pink Bull

Headquarters: Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Pink Bull, the reigning Drivers’ Champion with Max Verstappen aiming to equal Michael Schumacher’s report of 5 consecutive F1 titles in 2025, is predicated in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The manufacturing unit was inherited from groups that raced in F1 earlier than Pink Bull entered the game: it was utilized by Stewart from 1996 to 1999 after which by Jaguar from 2000 to 2004. The power is at present increasing, because the group, with Ford’s assist, is creating its personal hybrid turbo energy items underneath the Pink Bull Powertrains division, set to debut in 2026.

Mercedes

Headquarters: Brackley, United Kingdom | Engine Facility: Brixworth, United Kingdom
Not like the opposite groups talked about to date, Mercedes has a twin operational base, each situated in England and just some kilometers aside. The vehicles are designed and developed on the Brackley manufacturing unit, whereas the facility items that dominated the turbo-hybrid period from 2014 to 2021 are produced in Brixworth.

Aston Martin

Headquarters: Silverstone, United Kingdom
Just some meters from the Silverstone circuit’s entrance lies the Aston Martin Racing manufacturing unit, not too long ago renovated and considerably expanded. Not like Ferrari in Italy, nevertheless, the whole Expertise Campus is at present devoted solely to the F1 group, whereas the manufacturing of Aston Martin street vehicles stays primarily based in close by Gaydon.

Alpine

Headquarters: Enstone, United Kingdom | Engine Facility: Viry-Châtillon, France
Regardless of its French origins, Alpine— which took over from Renault in F1 in 2021— is headquartered within the UK. The group’s important manufacturing unit is in Enstone, beforehand utilized by Toleman, Benetton, Lotus, and Renault. In the meantime, the V6 turbo-hybrid energy unit is produced in France on the Viry-Châtillon facility. Nonetheless, from 2026, the Renault group will not provide F1 engines, because the group, underneath Flavio Briatore’s steering, has secured a buyer take care of Mercedes.

Haas

Headquarters: Kannapolis, United States | Manufacturing facility: Banbury, United Kingdom, and Varano de’ Melegari, Italy
Haas is the smallest and most cosmopolitan group in F1. Based by Gene Haas, it’s an American group with its headquarters in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Nonetheless, managing each day operations from such a distance is impractical, so the F1 vehicles are designed in Banbury, UK, with some parts manufactured on the Dallara manufacturing unit in Varano de’ Melegari, Italy. Lately, Haas has additionally maintained workplace house inside Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters.

Racing Bulls

Headquarters: Faenza, Italy | Secondary Base: Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Regardless of a number of title adjustments, Racing Bulls (previously Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri, and RB) stays the group closest to Ferrari by way of operational base. The “B group” of Pink Bull has traditionally been headquartered in Faenza, Ravenna province, on the former Minardi headquarters, which it took over in 2006. Nonetheless, sturdy synergies exist with Pink Bull and its Milton Keynes manufacturing unit, the place some parts are produced.

Williams

Headquarters: Grove, United Kingdom
The legendary group based by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, which gained 9 Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ titles in F1, stays UK-based regardless of being owned by the American funding agency Dorilton Capital. The manufacturing unit is situated in Grove, Oxfordshire.

Sauber

Headquarters: Hinwil, Switzerland | Secondary Base: Midlands space, United Kingdom (from 2025) | Engine Facility: Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
Till now, Sauber was the one F1 group apart from Ferrari with no UK operational base. This can change with Binotto and Audi’s determination to open a facility by mid-2025 within the Bicester-Silverstone-Milton Keynes space whereas sustaining its important headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland. In actuality, Sauber may have three websites, as its energy unit shall be developed at Audi Sport’s Neuburg an der Donau facility in Germany.

Feb 5, 2025Luca Marini