Grove: The home of Atlassian Williams F1 Team

Learn more about the place Atlassian Williams F1 Team has called home for 30 years

Published

07 JAN 2026

Est. reading time

3 min

Atlassian Williams F1 Team has called Oxfordshire home since our inaugural 1977 campaign. From car design and build to team logistics, everything starts from our headquarters in the heart of the English countryside.

Having jumped between a couple of bases in nearby Didcot, the team moved to Grove in 1996 and it’s from here we start our journey to 24 Grands Prix across the globe.

2026 marks our 30th anniversary at this location, keep reading to discover more about the place we call home.

Where are we based?

The main entrance to our Grove headquarters, as seen in early 2026

We’re based in Grove, a village around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south-west of Oxford. It’s here that our race cars are built, maintained, and prepared for each Grand Prix.

Our site is found to the north of the village itself, and sits alongside the Great Western Railway – a feat of engineering from the 19th century which is just metres away from the cutting edge technology we’re producing for the 2026 Formula 1 season.

The location puts us on the westward edge of the UK’s famed ‘motorsport valley’, with several other teams and suppliers nearby, and Silverstone Circuit just under an hour's drive away.

When Did We Get Here?

Helicopter footage from our first weeks at Grove in 1996

Williams moved into Grove during the mid-1990s, with the site officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 20th October 1996. That means this season will mark 30 years since we began fully operating out of Grove.

In 2023, the process of updating the site and its technologies began, bringing it closer in line with the demands of present day Formula 1.

Wind Tunnel One, which had been relocated piece-by-piece from our previous home to Grove, operated for the final time in 2025. Click here to find out more about this title-winning icon of aerodynamics.

The front entrance to our Grove factory in 1998 – note the 'Forward W' which has returned to our logo for 2026

Where Were We Before?

Before Grove, our base was in Didcot, just 10km (6 miles) east. Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head’s first site in the town was on Station Road in an old carpet warehouse, before moving to a new base on Basil Hill Road in 1984.

Didcot had served Williams well through its formative and title-winning years of the 1980s and early 1990s. But by the mid-90s, we’d simply outgrown the space.

The demands of modern Formula 1 required bigger workshops, more office space, and advanced R&D facilities – and the site at Grove provided exactly that.

Sir Frank Williams Avenue is a short walk from where our old base once stood (Image: Google Street View 2025)

The team’s legacy in the town is retained to this day. In 2012, a road a short distance from our old base was named “Sir Frank Williams Avenue” in honour of our legendary co-founder.

How Can I Visit?

You can book tickets to visit the Williams Experience Centre

While our HQ is a working Formula 1 facility and not open for casual walk-ins, fans can get closer than they might think. Through the Williams Experience Centre, you can enjoy events such as our Race Day Experience, where you’ll follow the action in our state-of-the-art venue while surrounded by team history.

For those wanting to dive deeper into the legacy of Williams, the Heritage Collection Tour offers the chance to see some of the most famous cars in our history up close.

And new for 2026, discover Sprint Saturdays and experience a Sprint race like never before.

Find out more and book your visit here: Williams Experience Centre

WATCH: The history of Wind Tunnel One

Get first hand stories of a little-known piece for Williams history

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