Dan Fallows, former member of Red Bull, explains the reasons for their current domination
For the former aerodynamicist of the Austrian team, the current dominance of Red Bull is due to their clear operating mode for several years.
Red Bull emerged as a dominant force from the “new era” of F1 rules, continuing their success from the 2022 season where they won 17 out of 22 races. But what makes them strong? Former aerodynamicist Dan Fallows worked at Red Bull before joining Aston Martin, where he oversaw their success in winning eight races between 2010 and 2013.
(a) A very clear direction
Fallows believes that Red Bull’s ability to have a “clear direction” sets them apart from the competition. “I think what makes Red Bull great is that they have spent a lot of time with a very clear direction,” said Dan Fallows on the Beyond the Grid podcast. “Since Christian Horner took over the team and Adrian Newey joined shortly after, one of the things Adrian has brought to the team is a very clear direction in terms of goals to achieve.”
The acquisition by Dietrich Mateschitz of Jaguar Racing in 2004 (which would later become Red Bull Racing) and Scuderia Minardi in 2006 (now Scuderia AlphaTauri), as well as the funds allocated by the Austrian entrepreneur, also played a role. Dietrich Mateschitz clearly invested a considerable amount of money in the team and was very passionate about Formula 1 and what he wanted to achieve with the team. The current Chief Aerodynamics Engineer at Aston Martin also doesn’t forget to mention Helmut Marko, who is in charge of the Red Bull development driver program, making sure that the teams were working in the right way and that future drivers for the main team would go through what is now AlphaTauri.
Fallows summarizes his thoughts on this plan by explaining: « It was about giving money and freedom to people who could then build such a team. »
Red Bull’s recruitment, another key to success
Dan Fallows also emphasizes that recruiting graduates at Red Bull is one of the main reasons the company has been able to produce some of the best cars of the modern era, which has made it the envy of the rest of the grid.
“It’s been a project since Adrian joined, and he’s been following his mold and ideas from the beginning,” he explains. They had the advantage of having a very large budget, a very clear vision, and being able to recruit incredibly competent people, whether they were graduates or from other teams over the years.”
We have created a highly efficient team that communicates well, made up of very motivated and talented engineers, and equipped with a set of tools that everyone in the starting grid envies.
With this impressive armada, it becomes clear how Red Bull managed to win 20 out of the 25 races since the arrival of these new cars. Not to mention the driving talents of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez.
