A Formula 1 racing team plans a further upgrade to its Oxfordshire headquarters "to support the team's aspirations".

Alpine F1 has applied for planning consent to build a workshop extension on to the Wind Tunnel Building at its HQ at Whiteways Technical Centre at Enstone, near Chipping Norton.

A planning statement says the proposals present an opportunity "to improve the existing facilities at Alpine to ensure that they are able to continue to compete with the largest teams in Formula 1".

It adds: "There are tight time constraints for delivering this project in part due to the Formula 1 capex equalisation regulations."

These are new regulations that come into force in 2026.

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The Whiteways Technical Centre was one of the first purpose built F1 facilities in the world. 

Alpine F1 headquarters - formerly the Lotus factory - pictured in 2015 (Image: Richard Cave)

It was built in 1991 to the east of Enstone village for the Benetton F1 team. Renault bought it in 2000 and the team competed as Renault and more recently Alpine for most of the championship seasons since.

A planning document says: "The proposed development is to provide new workshop space to support the F1 Team’s aspirations to update and improve its technical facilities and operations on the site.

"This is to ensure they continue to be competitive within the motorsport industry.

"At present some of the equipment and operations within the current workshop spaces within the existing wind tunnel building cannot be performed to their full potential due to limitations such as structural tolerances not meeting the standards of modern measuring equipment."

Illustration of the proposed Wind Tunnel Building extension (Image: Ridge/WODC) The layout of the extension "simply extends the workshop areas to the west of the building", the planning statement says.

It will "accommodate existing and new technical equipment, providing new workshop facilities" and "is solely to expand and improve the existing facilities and will not result in any increase to the number of staff on site once complete".

Last year the team had a 24 per cent stake sold to a group of celebrity investors, including Hollywood stars and Wrexham FC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

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The latest proposal is one of several recent planning applications the company has made to upgrade the site.

There is a current application pending for construction of a temporary staff car park for a period of three years.

There is a further application pending for "two storey infill extension to the existing main factory building and associated works to create additional production and plant room areas”.

More recently, planning permission was granted for a first floor extension over the R&D Building to create a new plant room and another for a replacement gym and welfare facilities, office space, laboratories, storage space "and operational consolidation”.

This development is currently under construction.