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Dan Fallows will leave his post as Aston Martin’s technical director before his former boss Adrian Newey arrives during the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Fallows, 50, has a varied career in F1 which started at Jaguar in the early 2000s. In 2006 he joined Red Bull where he worked and was a pivotal part of its success until 2021, when it was announced he would join Aston Martin in April the following year.
Aston Martin had a strong start to Fallows’ first full year at Aston taking five podiums in the first six races of 2023, but the team began to struggle in the second half of the year and finished fifth, where it also sits with three races remaining in 2024.
The team is in a process of change as it awaits its new factory being fully online, but with no podiums this year compared to the eight scored last year, this season has felt like a step back.
It has at least secured Newey - also from Red Bull - as a managing technical partner. The addition of Newey and the relocation of Fallows will trigger a further reshuffle in the team’s technical department.
The Race says
Scott Mitchell-Malm
Dan Fallows’ removal as technical director is not a surprise given the team’s disappointing season and its failure to capitalise on the opportunity it had at the start of 2023.
While Aston being second-best to Red Bull was a mirage born from the underperformance of Mercedes and Red Bull, any notion it had of establishing itself as a top team this year has been blown out of the water by consistently troubled car development. And as technical director, Fallows shoulders responsibility for that.
A technical shake-up seemed inevitable with a change in Group CEO, Martin Whitmarsh making way for the extremely well-regarded ex-Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell, and the impending early 2025 arrival of design legend Adrian Newey.
A new structure needed to be conceived and it was always tough to see how Fallows fit into that. It may also be inferred from the Aston Martin announcement that the Fallows exit is not considered a great loss. He has at least been afforded more respect than some departures who are quietly booted out the back door get, and will remain in the Group in an undisclosed role, but nobody would call that press release particularly warm.
When all that can really be said about Fallows’ influence and legacy is he “led the team to the success of the AMR23”, Aston Martin is effectively admitting his positive contribution was limited.
This is just the first step in Cowell getting the Aston Martin house in order. The problems clearly do not start or begin with Fallows. But clearly it was not believed he had a part to play in rectifying them.
The only confirmation of what Fallows might do next came from the team’s statement which said he would remain part of the “group”.
“I would like to thank Dan for his contribution to Aston Martin Aramco in the last two years,” said Andy Cowell, Group CEO.
“Dan led the team to the success of the AMR23 which secured eight podiums last season.”
Fallows added: “In my time at Aston Martin, it has been a joy and a privilege to guide the technical team on their journey towards being race and championship winners. It is time for me to pass on the baton, but I look forward to watching the team's future success, which I am sure will come soon.”
