Red Bull warn Aston Martin it faces TWO-YEAR wait for its new technical director

Christian Horner and Otmar Szafnauer — Photo: © LAT Images

Red Bull - Aston Martin

Red Bull warn Aston Martin it faces TWO-YEAR wait for its new technical director

Red Bull intent on holding Dan Fallows to his contract

Ian Parkes

Friday 25 June 2021 14:54

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Aston Martin has been warned by F1 rival Red Bull it will have to wait until 2023 to land its new technical director.

Red Bull decided to trump Aston Martin by announcing its head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows would be leaving the team he joined in 2006, albeit stating that would not be until the end of his contract.

Asked to clarify the contractual side of the situation, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner refused to go into exact detail, other than to state Fallows would not be leaving "for a couple of years".

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In response, Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer stated that with regard to Fallows' start time, he is "still working on that".

He added: "It is 100 per cent signed, sealed, delivered Dan is coming, it's just a matter of the timing."

Questioned as to why the team had not confirmed Fallows itself, Szafnauer replied: "We announced the restructuring and we were going to announce Dan in due course, but we don't control what Red Bull do.

"I'm grateful they [Red Bull] announced Dan, he's a great addition to our team, a like-minded individual, he's a high performer, he's won world championships, he knows Seb [Vettel], so we look forward to Dan joining."

Aston Martin also tackling Alfa Romeo

Aston Martin is also facing a battle with Alfa Romeo over the appointment of Luca Furbatto as its new engineering director, with the Italian unlikely to leave until the end of this season.

Recognising the difficulties in trying to appoint people in good time, in particular given the new regulations that come into force next year, Szafnauer added: "It's a marathon, not a sprint.

"The important thing is we get the right people. You'd rather have the right people in your team as opposed to getting somebody very quickly but doesn't work out.

"So the process is to identify like-minded individuals who are high-performing, get them into the team, and if we have to wait a little bit, that's the process."