Racing Bulls migrated to its new headquarters in Milton Keynes at the start of January. Red Bull's second team abandoned its aging Bicester factory (an annex to its main factory in Faenza) to integrate with Red Bull in a separate location.
Peter Bayer, the team's CEO, explained before the holidays that work would begin at the beginning of January in the new premises, to prepare for the 2025 season and fully launch the 2026 single-seater project.
“The Milton Keynes office is ready” Bayer said. “The IT specialists are in the process of arranging it, manufacturing it, because the objective is to have everything ready so that the staff, during the closure, can move and be operational from January 2, so as not to waste time in terms of development, modeling workshop, wind tunnel, and everything else.”
“So there will be no losses and it will be a game changer because it is a state-of-the-art facility. Bicester is still, more or less, the old Reynard factory. We have installed some new ones desks and new carpet, but that's about it.”
“So there is no parking, no canteen or supermarket to buy food. The gym is tiny and old. It is simply no longer up to date. It is also too small for us, in do.”
“We don't have enough space. Guys, like Jody [Egginton, directeur technique] and Alan [Permane, directeur sportif]when they're both in the office, they have a desk the size of this table that they share back to back. I think that's part of the attractiveness of an employer, it's obvious that you have to have good work facilities and that's what's going to change.”
Racing Bulls has thought of everything to make its new infrastructure an attractive place to recruit: “A nice office does not necessarily result in working hours, but it immediately makes us a more attractive employer.”
“Because in Milton Keynes we will have a good canteen. And, at the moment, we won't have a gym, but we will have a contract with a local gym where the guys can go up to get ours ready.”
“The modeling workshop, because, again, we are building with new machines, everything will be state of the art and we are investing in new CFD facilities. So this could, and should, give us a little boost inch for 2025.”
The restructuring started last year in the team will also play a role in the development: “I think probably the biggest effect on the 2025 car is some of the changes we've made to our processes.”
“Some of the people we've managed to add in some areas where we want to be stronger. The facilities will come a little later, because we're moving in January. As you know, everyone will stop the 2025 development quite early. “
Bayer explains that work on 2026 has already started at the beginning of January, but that the 2025 car will still evolve: “Typically, on January 1 or 2, we will run the 2026 model in the wind tunnel, but not indefinitely. We are not removing the 2025 model.”
“But you will take the first opportunity that the FIA gives you, on January 2, to run this model. Then, yes, the 2025 car will go back into the tunnel, but certainly for a limited time. But it's a fantastic facility and , of course, this will allow the team to have a real chance to fight against the manufacturers.”
The objective of freeing ourselves from the Bicester factory is also to be able to work everywhere in all areas: “What we decided consciously, rightly or wrongly, was to move away from the model where the aerodynamics are in Bicester and the rest in Italy. That's it.”
“Now we try to look at the company as being location free. If we want to hire someone, we take the best girls or the best boys. If they are in Italy or Europe, we take them into consideration. Europe. If they're in the UK, we take them to the UK.”
“We have a race engineer who is based in the UK, and the race engineer for the other car is in Europe, so that's how we look at it. It's a change. We have thought this was the best way to turn a logistical disadvantage into an advantage when looking for staff.”
“We've managed to pry a few guys away from top teams for purely personal reasons, because maybe one of them wants to come back and live in the UK, or another wants to start a new life in Italy. We Let’s try to turn it into an advantage.”
