Aston Martin concept "a challenge" compared to Red Bull

Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows recognised before he had even started his new role that the team's car this year would be "a challenge" compared to what he had helped design with Red Bull.

Following a squabble over his services and a nine-month period of gardening leave, Fallows finally severed a 20-year link with Milton Keynes - joining the team when it was formerly Jaguar - and started with Aston Martin in March, after the car had already been launched.

As part of the terms of his gardening leave, Fallows was allowed no contact with Aston Martin and so no input on this year's AMR22 that had been designed to the latest regulations.

"It was tough to see the cars launched and not know exactly why they were looking the way they were because I hadn't seen the work that led to those final design decisions," said Fallows, in an interview on Aston Martin's website.

"Having said that, I could make some educated guesses and say, ‘Well, this is why I think some cars are faster, and this is the reason some cars are slower.' You don't need the results from the wind tunnel to form an opinion on that."

Aston Martin take wrong turn

Assessing the AMR22 for the first time, Fallows immediately recognised the design philosophy was in stark contrast to that of the RB18, which he concedes that as head of aerodynamics he had helped mould before his ties to the team were cut.

"When I saw the AMR22 for the first time, it was clearly quite different from the Red Bull philosophy," said Fallows.

"Having worked on the Red Bull car in its initial stages - roughly half the aero development work had been done by the time I left - I have a pretty good understanding of what they've done and how they've approached things.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I looked at the AMR22 and thought it wouldn't be quick, but I did think it would be a challenge to achieve the kind of performance Red Bull was going to achieve with the concept of their car.

"I was curious to see the thinking behind the AMR22 philosophy, but in fact by the time I arrived the team had already concluded that they needed to pursue an alternative design solution."

Fallows dismisses link to Red Bull-looking upgrade

It quickly became evident, Aston Martin's interpretation of the rules differed from that of their rivals, immediately placing the team on the back foot, a position from which it is still recovering.

At the Spanish GP, a new design was introduced that bore a strong resemblance to the RB18, however, Fallows insists that was none of his doing.

"The upgrade had already been designed before I arrived," stated Fallows.

"I completely understand why the team did it. The car was always designed with two concepts in mind and from very early on the feeling was that it had gone in the wrong direction.

"The decision to switch actually helped me get up to speed quicker. I understood more about the concept we introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix than I did about the previous concept."

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