Formula 1
How Fallows has fostered an "Aston Martin way" to boost F1 team
Aston Martin Formula 1 performance director Tom McCullough says that technical director Dan Fallows has encouraged the team to pursue its own route rather than copy rivals.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Mar 29, 2023, 1:37 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Fallows was recruited from Red Bull Racing, where he had been one of Adrian Newey's key lieutenants for many years, and he began work at the Silverstone team in April.
Inevitably that has led to pointed suggestions from the Red Bull camp that the very competitive AMR23 is a copy of its car.
However, McCullough says that Fallows and new head of aero Eric Blandin were keen to mix their own knowledge gained at Red Bull and Mercedes respectively with that of the existing team members.
As such, they've encouraged the team to pursue an "Aston Martin way" of approaching car development.
"One had been at Red Bull one, the other than Mercedes," said McCullough of Fallows and Blandin.
"They very much wanted to do what Dan refers to as the Aston Martin way, which is let's listen to everything, let's listen to all the people internally, let's get the input from the two different ways of developing a car and then look at where we need to improve, and look at what we think is the best way of doing that.
"So that's one thing I think Dan's been very good at, just saying you've always got to look at what other people are doing – but you've got to do it your own way, if you want to try and beat them.
"That's been Dan and Eric's sort of mantra from the beginning, from an aerodynamic and concept side of things. That's the reality, which is why the cars do look quite different, if you look at a lot of the areas of the car."
McCullough stressed that Fallows, Blandin and other new recruits integrated well with the team in 2022, with chief technical officer Andrew Green – who has now moved off the F1 project – playing a key role.
Dan Fallows, Technical Director, Aston Martin F1 Team, in a Press Conference
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
"This year's car throughout last year was very much under Andrew Green's leadership," he said. "So he was getting Dan and Eric up to speed from a performance development and aero development side of things.
"They've largely been I think very happy with what they've seen, the tools, the people. We were onto a path even before those guys turned up, but they've just brought another level of experience and knowledge from two of the best teams, Mercedes and Red Bull.
"They just brought a lot of understanding and experience from there that has just helped evolve how we work, and that relentless push.
"I think a lot of it is about creating that atmosphere to give that creative thinking which Dan and Eric have been very keen to do from the beginning.
"They've been quite happy with the ideas and the information that's come from even existing people, and been really happy with the level of what they've had to work with. So I think that's been good.
"That leadership in that direction, and that competitiveness, and that drive is what Eric and Dan have really brought to the party."
McCullough said that the difficult 2023 season had helped to bring the team together.
"Last year we developed two ways," he noted. "We'd gone a certain way, it wasn't the right way, we accepted that, we changed that, they then arrived during that process.
Read Also:
- The simple explanation for Red Bull's DRS dominance
- Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries
- Williams not wedded to Mercedes for 2026 F1 engine supply
"And they agreed and then took hold of that and sort of ran with it. So I think the working relationship between Dan and Eric and Andrew Green last year, plus the other the senior people, has been really strong.
"I think in a way when you're not too competitive, and we know where you're trying to head, it helps bring people together a bit. And that's what we had last year. We were all disappointed when we weren't fast enough at the start of the year.
"And Eric and Dan as well as being very competent are very good people, they're really decent human beings, and they really want this project to work. So it's actually really easy and fun to work with them."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Porsche puts F1 entry on hold as McLaren idea also leads nowhere
Next article Steiner: Hulkenberg's F1 experience already paying off for Haas
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
4 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
7 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
8 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
9 h
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe