Aston Martin needs to create its own unique way of operating in order to eventually beat the likes of Red Bull to Formula 1 championships, according to technical director Dan Fallows.
Red Bull ended Mercedes’ period of dominance with a championship double in 2022, following on from Max Verstappen’s drivers’ title win a year earlier. Fallows joined Aston Martin from Red Bull last year and ahead of the team’s planned move into a new factory this May, he says simply copying the blueprint of a front-runner won’t allow Aston to beat them.
“The important thing for us is to make sure we don’t just replicate what our competitors are doing,” Fallows said. “We don’t believe that is going to help us overtake the likes of Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, and we have to develop our own way of doing things.
“That does take time, but we’ve got a hugely ambitious group of people, and one of the things about seeing the new factory come together is it demonstrates this momentum, this wish to kind of accelerate the process of moving up the grid and starting to get into a winning situation. I think that’s what’s going to really help us get there, is this passion and motivation and belief that we’ll get there eventually.”
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Given his extensive experience at Red Bull, however, Fallows says there is a key lesson to be learned about a successful team that can be utilized by Aston Martin, as it looks to strengthen in every department.
“There are a number of reasons why Red Bull are good. They have managed over a period of years to iron out issues in every aspect of the team, whether that be race team, manufacturing facilities, the design office — a lot of building that kind of success is making sure there are no areas where you have substantial weaknesses.
“They are an incredibly strong team and I do have an experience of what it takes to win races and win championships. The key message is that you have to make sure there are no holes that could compromise your performance as you go along.”
One difference between Aston Martin and the top three teams is a works power unit deal, but Fallows doesn’t believe that hurts its chances of winning in the future.
“I don’t feel that is (a barrier). I don’t feel that having the Merc HPP engine in our car has been in any way negative for us. It’s proved its reliability, its performance is where it needs to be. I don’t think in modern Formula 1 that’s a problem at all.”
