Aston Martin explain reasons for Dan Fallows’ removal

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed light on the reasons behind Dan Fallows’ exit from the F1 team.

Earlier this month Aston Martin announced that Fallows, who only joined the team in 2022 from Red Bull, had left his role as technical director at the Silverstone-based squad.

His position will be filled on a temporary basis by executive director Bob Bell, while former Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardille will start work at Aston Martin next year, alongside Adrian Newey, who has been recruited as managing technical partner.

Ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, McCullough indicated that Fallows was removed due to Aston Martin’s underwhelming performances this season.

"The performance of the team this year hasn't been at the level that we've all been wanting it to be at," McCullough told media in Las Vegas. "So we haven't quite delivered there and that's basically been a decision made by the team.

"I sat next to Dan for the last two or three years since he's been here, working closely with him, he had a really big impact on the development of the '22 car, the '23 car, he's brought a lot to the team, to be honest.

"From that side, it's been good fun working with him. But ultimately during '24, we haven't delivered on track to the level that we know we're expecting to and wanting to do.

"The development of these cars has been hard and ultimately it's a performance-based industry, isn't it? And the team's made the decision to make some changes."

Aston Martin enjoyed a stunning start to 2023 and emerged from the winter as Red Bull’s nearest competitors as they regularly challenged for podiums.

The team’s form has tailed off dramatically since and ongoing development troubles have hampered their progress.

Aston Martin have occupied a distant fifth place in the constructors’ championship for much of 2024. 

Neither Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll have managed to finish higher than fifth.