Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari the odd ones out as F1 team announces massive UK plan

Sauber's announcement that the aboriginal Audi Formula 1 works squad volition person a caller outer basal successful the UK means Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari are present the unusual ones retired connected the grid

Ferrari volition soon beryllium the lone Formula 1 squad without a basal of operations successful the UK.

As it stands, Sauber are besides based wholly successful Europe. The Audi-owned midfield squad is based successful Hinwil, Switzerland, portion its caller engines for the 2026 play are being built astatine a mill successful Neuburg, Germany, owned and operated by the German manufacturer.

But the program is for that to person changed by the mediate of this year. On Tuesday, Sauber announced its program to unfastened a caller basal successful 'motorsport valley' - an unofficial word describing the country of confederate England successful which astir F1 teams person a basal of operations adjacent to the Silverstone circuit.

"Sauber Motorsport is presently evaluating imaginable locations wrong 'motorsport valley,' including Bicester, Silverstone, and Milton Keynes," the squad confirmed. "The extremity is to person the UK Technical Centre operational by summertime 2025."

The squad is committing to the important outlay to lick 1 of its biggest problems. For galore years, Sauber person struggled to enlistee apical endowment due to the fact that it is hard to person them to uproot their lives and determination to Switzerland, wherever the outgo of surviving is highly precocious successful examination to the UK.

F1 teams are besides restricted by a fund cap, from which lone the apical 3 highest earners are exempt. So astir each unit wage contributes to the yearly maximum fund each squad is allowed to spend, meaning the precocious wages Sauber person to wage workers successful Switzerland is taking captious currency distant from different areas wherever show tin beryllium improved.

By opening a UK base, Sauber anticipation to pull amended engineers without having to wage them arsenic much. It is simply a method successfully implemented by rivals Haas, who based successful North Carolina but person outer operations successful Banbury, Oxfordshire, and successful Maranello, Italy, to location unit connected secondment from adjacent method partners Ferrari.

Red Bull's Italy-based sister squad Racing Bulls has this twelvemonth moved a important chunk of its operations to the UK to beryllium successful person sync with the genitor squad successful Milton Keynes. And Cadillac, who program to signifier F1's 11th squad from 2026, person a British installation successful Silverstone, Northamptonshire, contempt being headquartered successful the USA.

Alpine are owned by Renault but the motor works astatine Viry-Chatillon successful France volition nary longer marque F1 engines and the squad volition beryllium astir wholly based successful Enstone, Oxfordshire. Five different teams - Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams - are each headquartered wrong 'motorsport valley'.

It means Ferrari volition soon beryllium the lone F1 squad with nary operations astatine each successful the UK. The Prancing Horse did utilized to person a UK base, of which respected erstwhile motorsport writer Peter Windsor was erstwhile wide manager, but that cognition was closed down galore years ago.

Audi hopes that its caller facility, which volition beryllium named the Sauber Motorsport Technology Centre UK, "will widen the team's beingness and power wrong the planetary Formula 1 landscape". And main operating serviceman Mattia Binotto, erstwhile Ferrari squad principal, has made Sauber's intentions clear.

He said: "We are excited to found our method centre successful the UK to complement our cardinal tract successful Hinwil, which volition proceed to pb our main engineering operations and acquisition the largest squad growth. Expanding into the UK allows america to stay adjacent to 1 of the world's astir dynamic motorsport ecosystems. Our imaginativeness is to make a strong, collaborative web crossed Hinwil and the UK, driving innovation and performance."

Sauber volition officially go the Audi works F1 squad from 2026, erstwhile caller motor regulations travel into force. The German shaper has invested heavy to go 1 of the sport's powerfulness portion manufacturers, alongside established constructors Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda, portion Red Bull volition besides beryllium gathering their ain engines for the archetypal clip done their link-up with Ford.