Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former technical director Dan Fallows was moved aside earlier this month.
After a breakout year in 2023 that delivered six podiums and a fifth-place position in F1’s Constructors’ standings, Aston Martin ambitioned to do even better in 2024.
With its new state-of-the-art infrastructure at Silverstone Park coming online this year, and with an expanded technical expertise at its disposal, Aston pinned its hopes of gaining several positions in the championship while bridging the performance gap to its rivals.
Yet, Aston’s 2024 campaign never ignited. A solitary fifth-place finish in Saudi Arabia stands as the team’s best result year-to-date, while rivals like McLaren, Ferrari, and even a resurgent Mercedes soared ahead.
As the man in charge of Team Silverstone’s design office, Fallows bore the brunt of the blame for the team’s struggles.
Despite his impressive resume, which included years of success at Red Bull under Adrian Newey, Fallows’ leadership failed to translate into consistent on-track results for Aston Martin.
The early optimism generated by the team’s 2023 results has faded as the season has worn on, with development stagnating and the AMR24 unable to keep pace with its competitors.
Ultimately, Fallows’ inability to close the gap to the front of the grid left Aston Martin’s management questioning whether his vision aligned with their long-term ambitions.
“The performance of the team this year hasn’t been at the level that we’ve all been wanting it to be at,” admitted McCullough, quoted by Speedcafe.
“So we haven’t quite, I suppose, delivered there, and that’s basically been a decision made by the team.
“I sat next to Dan for the last two or three years since he’s been here, and working closely with him,” McCullough added.
“He had a really big impact on the development of the ‘22 car, and the ‘23 car. He’s brought a lot to the team, to be honest, so from that side, it’s been good fun working with him.
“But ultimately, during ’24, we haven’t delivered on track to the level that we were expecting to and wanted to.
“The development of these cars has been hard, and, yeah, ultimately, it’s a performance-based industry, and the team’s made the decision to make some changes.”
Fallows’ arrival in 2022 was meant to signal a new chapter for Aston Martin. Poached from Red Bull Racing, where he had served as head of aerodynamics under Newey, his hiring reflected the team’s sky-high ambitions.
His pedigree brought credibility to Lawrence Stroll’s vision of transforming Aston Martin into a powerhouse, bolstered by modern wind tunnel and factory facilities.
Yet the pressure to convert its promising potential into podiums proved unrelenting. In 2023, Aston Martin seemed to hit its stride with Fernando Alonso’s podium blitz, but 2024 revealed the cracks in the team’s performance foundation.
Fallows’ technical leadership came under scrutiny, and by mid-season, the whispers of change grew louder.
Despite the departure, McCullough emphasized that the team has the depth and expertise to continue its development.
Bob Bell, who joined Aston Martin earlier this year, has now taken on a more prominent role in leading the technical team, at least until Newey’s arrival at Silverstone.
“Overall, Bob’s been overseeing technical functions,” McCullough explained. “We have strength in depth, really, within the team, so [Fallows’] roles have been shared.
“We have Eric [Blandin] on the aero side, taking on quite a lot of the roles at this stage, but ultimately, Bob’s the one responsible.”
McCullough clarified that Fallows’ departure and Newey’s arrival in the second quarter of next year are two events that are not directly linked.
"Ultimately, this decision's been made by the team prior to that," he stated.
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