Eric Blandin has highlighted the stability and consistency at the top of Red Bull and Mercedes as reasons behind their long-standing Formula 1 success.
The Aston Martin deputy technical director was aerodynamics chief at both teams at different times, leaving Mercedes after a decade with the eight-time Constructors’ champions to join ‘Team Silverstone’ as part of their hiring spree last year.
Blandin also has stints with Red Bull and Ferrari under his belt high up in their aerodynamics teams through his career to date, and now wants to play a part in bringing Aston Martin to the front of the Formula 1 field with a new factory in the works and a significant increase in their resources.
But with first-hand experience of what makes teams at the front successful, he pointed to the sturdy presences at the top of each team.
“Both Red Bull and Mercedes have very talented people, but so do we,” Blandin told Aston Martin’s official website.
“They’ve been so successful because the core group of people leading them has been very stable and consistent through the years.
PlanetF1.com recommends
Revealed: The top 10 highest F1 points scorers of all time using unique formula
The five most entertaining drivers on the F1 2023 grid
Aston Martin find ‘small loophole’ to place ‘clever innovations’ on AMR23
“The stability enables experience, ways of working and trust to build between various members of the team – throughout the entire organization – and this is very powerful.”
Blandin is one of a host of hires made by Aston Martin as they build a basis for a future title challenge, with team owner Lawrence Stroll investing significant amounts in bringing in more than 150 new staff members over the past two years, as well as funding the construction of the team’s new Silverstone base, the new offices of which are due to open in May.
The former Mercedes head of aerodynamics joined the team in 2022, working with technical director and former Red Bull aerodynamics chief Dan Fallows day-to-day, and he believes the potential is there for the team to make big strides forward in the coming seasons.
“Winning never gets boring, but I joined AMF1 because I needed a new challenge,” Blandin explained.
“It’s the most exciting challenge: turning a team into a championship contender – a team that isn’t performing at the level it wants to but has massive investment and growth potential and an owner in Lawrence Stroll who is determined to take the Aston Martin name to the front of the F1 grid.”
