Aston Martin were incredibly pleased to announce on Tuesday that the majority of their staff had worked in the team’s brand-new offices for the first time, as part of the Silverstone-based outfit’ s newly-constructed facilities.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll has invested an extraordinary amount of money into having a brand-new base built for the entire team, with the side having been working out of buildings designed for Jordan 30 years ago.
With the side beginning to move into the new facilities though, ex-F1 driver Marc Surer is concerned how it will affect the team’s performances.
Surer believes moving into a new building mid-season is a “huge disadvantage”, with him expecting it to disrupt the team’s “whole rhythm”.
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“That can only be a disadvantage because the whole rhythm, the whole flow is disturbed,” Surer told Formel1.de.
“We have such a full programme in Formula 1, all the analyses and all the processing and also the parts production […] have to go on non-stop.
“The factory move, to me, is a huge disadvantage for them.”
The team’s new base will consist of three buildings, with the staff having moved into ‘Building 1’.
Everything is seemingly going to be bigger and better, with Aston Martin set to have their very own wind tunnel, meaning they won’t have to keep using Mercedes’.
This won’t be ready until next year though, due to the sheer size of the infrastructure.
Aston Martin will certainly be hoping that Surer isn’t correct, given just how well the British outfit have started the 2023 season.
After the opening six rounds, Aston Martin find themselves second in the Constructors’ Championship, thanks to two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso having claimed five podiums already this season.
As a result, the Spaniard sits third in the Drivers’ Championship, with him perhaps still believing that he’s in the title fight.
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Whilst Alonso has been thriving, Lance Stroll has been severely struggling.
The Canadian has failed to out-qualify Alonso at any race this season, with Stroll having also finished behind the veteran at every race.
With Alonso performing so well, the pressure is starting to build on Stroll to perform, with his team-mate proving that the car is more than capable of finishing in the top-five, let alone the top 10.