Aston Martin continues Red Bull poaching with another new signing

Ewan Gale
Thursday 1 July 2021 12:20 - Updated: 12:27

Aston Martin has announced another key technical signing from Red Bull with Andrew Alessi joining as head of technical operations.

Alessi's arrival has been confirmed just a week after Dan Fallows was announced as Aston Martin's new technical director, although his contract with Red Bull is yet to expire.

With Luca Furbatto also joining the team from Alfa Romeo as engineering director, the personnel upgrades being made by the team as it heads towards the radical new era of F1 in 2022 are significant as owner Lawrence Stroll aims to build the Silverstone-based outfit into a powerhouse.

“I am delighted to be joining Aston Martin as head of technical operations," said Alessi.

“Like everyone in and around F1, I have seen and been impressed by the evident ambition of the team I am joining, led as it is now by Lawrence Stroll [executive chairman].

"I am very much looking forward to working with Otmar Szafnauer [team principal and chief executive officer] as well as the very capable technical- and engineering-focused members of the senior management team.

“Now is a fantastic time to be joining a team that is growing fast, and I am ready to get stuck in straight away so as to contribute to the process of making the significant aerodynamic and operational improvements that we need in order to win consistently in the future.”

Welcoming Alessi, Szafnauer said: "Two weeks ago we announced the hiring of Luca Furbatto as our new engineering director, who will start work for us in due course. Last week Dan Fallows’ forthcoming arrival as our new technical director was also made public.

“Today, Andrew is added to the impressive list of our senior technical/engineering hirings, as head of technical operations. Ours is a great team, and it always has been.

“This year it became Aston Martin, a great brand name supported by a fantastic roster of brilliant new sponsor-partners."

Aston Martin now "has weight to punch harder"

Aston Martin's predecessors Force India and Racing Point were regarded as punching above their weights given the relatively small scale of operation compared to the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

With the technical staff expanding, however, Szafnauer believes the team will be able to deliver tougher punches to its rivals.

“Many times this year we have said: ‘This team has always punched above its weight; now it has the weight with which to punch harder'," he explained.

"That is absolutely true, and expert and experienced new arrivals such as Luca, Dan and now Andrew represent proof we are building the technical/engineering strength in depth that we need in order to deliver that harder punch.”