Dan Fallows believes a reunion with former Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey will be pivotal to helping Aston Martin "take the next step".
Fallows and Newey worked alongside one another at Red Bull for 16 years after both joined the team in 2006. Fallows was initially team leader of the aerodynamics department before stepping up to become head of aerodynamics in 2014.
In June of 2021, it was announced that Fallows had opted for a fresh challenge by taking up the technical director role with Aston Martin, although it was just over nine months before he finally started work with the Silverstone-based squad.
On March 1 next year almost three years after the duo parted ways, Fallows and Newey will be reunited following the latter's confirmation to the position of managing technical partner, as well as becoming a shareholder.
Fallows is naturally looking forward to working again with Newey following their previous spell together which led to numerous drivers' and constructors' championships.
"It's really exciting for me because I've really enjoyed working with him over the years," said Fallows, speaking to RacingNews365.
"It was something that I was keen to point out when I left Red Bull that this [Aston Martin] was a really big challenge for me. It was something I wanted to do to see how a team could grow into something really big.
"I felt we'd achieved a lot at Red Bull, but I was very keen to point out to Adrian that it wasn't anything to do with him because one of the biggest highlights was working with him and the relationship that we had creatively.
"I'm really looking forward to carrying that on here but in a different environment."
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In luring the most-esteemed designer in F1 history, with 25 titles to his credit across his time primarily working with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, Aston Martin now appears to have all the pieces of the puzzle it needs to make its breakthrough to win grands prix and become a champion team.
Owner Lawrence Stroll has pulled out all the stops to assemble a highly talented technical team, with Newey at the helm, and finance the construction of a state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone where the first wind tunnel built and specifically tailored to F1 for more than 20 years will go online later this year.
Newey is adamant he has nothing to prove in F1 after all this time but there will be an expectation upon him, and his team, to finally realise the ambitions of owner Stroll, in particular once the new regulations start in 2026.
Appreciating the significance of Newey's signing, Fallows added: "It's a fantastic opportunity for the team to take the next step.
"We've been building this for a long time. Obviously, I've been here for two and a half years now, and we've taken a fairly big step on the way to where we want to go.
"But this is the next step for us to take us into 2026 and beyond."
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