Mercedes has unveiled the next stage of a £70 million redevelopment of its Brackley HQ to create a state-of-the-art, sustainable F1 campus of the future.
Since 2017, Mercedes has completed more than 30 different projects to reshape and design and production facilities at its factory, while continuing to operate in the world's most demanding motorsport series.
The German outfit admits that 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.
With this work completed, the team enters a new phase of development which will involves the purchase of adjoining land parcels, including a former railway cutting to enable site expansion. This land has been occasionally used by neighbours and while access rights will necessarily change to enable safe delivery of the campus expansion; Mercedes believes that the project overall will represent a significant net gain for the local area.
These land purchases will enable site expansion, 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".
"Our campus was originally built to accommodate 350 people," explained Toto Wolff. "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."
The new phase of development will see the team making a £30 million investment commitment, having purchased outright the Brackley campus during 2022.
"We know that the quality of our working environment is a key performance factor and these plans demonstrate our commitment to give our people an environment to perform at their best."
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 match-day 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.
The new facilities will also be more efficient, with Mercedes aiming for a 50% reduction in water consumption per person per day and to achieve greater than 60% recycling of office waste. As well as being state-of-the-art buildings, they will simultaneously reflect the company's 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," continued Wolff. "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.
"It's not just the team that will benefit from the enhancement of the campus. This investment is also a commitment to the local area. We have been proud to support our local community since our site opened in 1998 and look forward to expanding this involvement as our campus develops. 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 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.
"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."
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