Formula E, the FIA’s new global electric racing series, has announced that its new headquarters and team facilities will be based within the grounds of the Donington Park Racing Circuit in the UK.
Construction work on the 44,000ft² bespoke premises began on 2nd January and when complete will provide state-of-the-art facilities for each of the 10 Formula E teams, together with offices, stores and workshops for Formula E’s own operational staff – totalling more than 150 people.
In addition, the Formula E teams – all of which have now been announced – will use the Donington Park circuit for their testing and development work on the fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E race car.
The new facilities, located in Donington’s Western Paddock, just 100 metres from the circuit itself at the Melbourne Hairpin entry, will also comply with the “Very Good” BREEAM sustainable construction standards and with the UK Government’s Low Carbon Economy and the National Planning Policy Framework requirements. This will ensure teams benefit from high environmental standards, effective energy management systems and the reduction of carbon emissions wherever possible – in-line with Formula E’s sustainability ethos.
Formula E is a new FIA Championship using electric single-seater race cars capable of speeds in excess of 225km/h. Beginning this September in Beijing, the series will compete in the heart of 10 of the world’s leading cities including London, Miami and Rio de Janeiro. Ten teams, each with two drivers, will go head-to-head to create a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans whilst accelerating the electric vehicle market and promoting sustainability.
All works will be complete by the end of April with the first teams moving in on 1st May. Formula E’s commercial aspects will continue to operate out of its London offices.
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: “We looked at a number of locations around Europe but the British motorsport industry is regarded as the best in the world so it was an easy decision for us to be based in the UK and our new facilities at Donington Park provide the perfect central location for operating the FIA Formula E Championship. Being in the ‘Motorsport Valley’ also means we can take advantage of the technology and skills all around us, as we have already done through McLaren and Williams.
“All 10 teams will soon have top facilities at their disposal in a modern, sustainable building, as well as direct access to the circuit to develop their cars. We are also just a stone’s throw from East Midlands Airport and the hub of our logistics partner DHL, meaning will we make substantial cost and emission savings. It’s also great for such an innovative and global racing series to be based at a historic race track like Donington Park and we’re looking forward to welcoming the teams.”[wzslider height=”400″]
