Fallows: Aston Martin in a solid place to grow

Fallows joined Aston Martin from Red Bull back in 2022, and the fruits of his work were clear with the team's 2023 challenger, the AMR23, that copied the design philosophy of the the mighty RB19.

As a result, Aston Martin with Fernando Alonso were the main challengers of Red Bull and Max Verstappen in the first half of the season, the Spaniard bagging six podiums in the first half of the season, eight in total so far.

But Aston Martin have recently lost the development race, as the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes caught up with them, following midseason upgrades from those three teams.

Speaking ahead of the final F1 race of 2023 in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Fallows reflected in Aston Martin's preview about the season that passed, the challenges and the work achieved.

He said: "It's been a huge amount of work and we shouldn't underestimate how difficult it is to start the season with a strong car and see the field catch up by the middle of the season.

"Then, to find the reserves and motivation to respond and pull that back by the end of the season speaks to our team's talent and resilience. That's a testament to the huge amount of work that people have put in behind the scenes back at the Technology Campus. We still have the hunger and motivation to secure those results, and it's been a real pleasure this season.

"This is also a good indication that we're in a solid place to grow and work towards our goal of fighting for race wins in the years ahead," Fallows claimed.

Aston Martin have dropped down the order of the 2021 F1 Constructors' Championship, and are currently fifth on the charts, 11 points behind McLaren.

Commenting on that, Fallows said: "We can only focus on ourselves and do the best job we can. I think we've proved now with the last two races that we shouldn't be worried about the challenge of Yas Marina Circuit.

"It's a circuit that might suit some of our competitors, but we've proved that we can also compete. It's very tight and that can play to our advantage as well. We have to be ready to take advantage of any opportunities," he insisted.

As for the 2024 challenger, the AMR24, the engineer said: "We've done a lot of work on next year's car. We've already released some of the main components for production, and we're putting the final touches to the aerodynamics package for launch.

"The work continues after that. We have a winter shutdown coming up soon and we have to account for that, but as soon as we've got the initial launch car out of the way, it's full steam ahead with the developments for next season. It's non-stop," he explained.

Aston Martin will maintain Alonso and Lance Stroll for 2024, the former performing at a very high level throughout 2023, the latter being the big boss' son, has a secure seat despite his terrible performance so far, although credit has to be given to the Canadian who has delivered a couple of solid races recently, the latest in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he finished fifth.

Fallows stressed the importance of having the same drivers, he commented: "It's really important for us. Lance and Fernando are getting the best out of the car at the moment and that's what we want to continue to do.

"They've been pivotal in helping us to understand where we took some missteps mid-season and how we turned that around. Their feedback has helped us identify where the car was strong, where it was weak and how it can be can improved.

"Having them in the cockpit next year, having that continuity, is really important for the team in terms of developing and understanding the car," Fallows concluded.