Who is Dan Fallows? Aston Martin and Red Bull in the F1 “copies” row

Red Bull unhappy with Aston Martin’s new upgrade package at the Spanish Grand Prix – but why is Dan Fallows such a major part of the story? Who is he and what links does he have with Aston Martin and Red Bull?

After a slow start to the 2022 season, Aston Martin has brought its first major upgrade to the AMR22 for the Spanish Grand Prix. The package features revised side skirts and ground clearance as the team looks to become a regular points scorer with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll.

However, the upgraded AMR22 bears a striking resemblance to Red Bull’s RB18 – which has won three of the five races before the Spanish Grand Prix.

Although the FIA ​​approved Aston to copy the design, having seen it under development as early as November 2021, Red Bull is keen that the board of directors investigate further.

Dan Fallows is one of the central people in the story – but who is he and what connections do the two have with the teams?

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Who is Dan Fallows in the epic Aston Martin and Red Bull?

Last month, Dan Fallows began working as Aston Martin’s technical director.

A long-term employee at Red Bull, Fallows was a key part of the aerodynamics team that led the team to four consecutive titles with Vettel between 2010 and 2013.

He was a team leader and chief engineer at Red Bull His promise to be technical director even lured him to Aston Martin – a deal announced in June 2021.

Fallows will not become Red Bull’s head coach as long as Adrian Newey is still around, and Red Bull granted Dan Fallows permission to start work at Aston in April after the two teams reached an agreement during the notice period.

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Notice periods / gardening leave are common in F1 when technical numbers move teams. The team that loses the employee wants to make sure that their IP address and other sensitive information doesn’t move with the employee.

Copying F1 designs is not prohibited

Red Bull said any transfer of its IP address would be a “serious concern”. However, copying another car is not banned in F1, as teams have been drawing inspiration from other designs – usually the fastest – for years.

Photo by Dan Esteten – Formula 1 / Formula 1 via Getty Images

What is forbidden, however, is the so-called reverse engineering of the parts or the entire design – the team uses software and images to create a mirror of another car.

This rule was tightened after Aston’s predecessor, Racing Point, copied the 2019 Mercedes design for his 2020 build. Racing Point was fined £400,000 and forfeited 15 constructors’ championship points.

However, what the FIA ​​can’t stop is the knowledge someone has in mind when transferring teams – the 48-year-old Fallows has been in motorsport/Formula 1 since the late 1990s with stints at Lula, Dallara and Jaguar before Red Bull. He bought Jaguar in 2005 when it sold Ford.

Photo by Brian Lennon – Formula 1 / Formula 1 via Getty Images

In other news, he explained the meaning of “Freud’s slip” after George W. Bush’s slip on Iraq

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