Over the past two seasons, Aston Martin have slowly been building a super team behind the scenes.
The phenomenally talented driver pairing of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll is supported by a number of highly successful members of staff who have been poached from the big teams.
One of these individuals is Dan Fallows, who became Aston Martin’s technical director after leaving his role as Red Bull’s head of aerodynamics.
Fallows played a key role in designing the RB18, the car which was so dominant last season and led Red Bull to victory in both championships.
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Unsurprisingly, the AMR23 looks a lot like the RB18, with Fallow’s influence and knowledge being evident on both cars.
With their new car design, Aston Martin look rapid this year, scoring a podium in the first race of the season with Fernando Alonso while outperforming both Ferrari and Mercedes.
It has now been revealed that the AMR23 is actually quicker than the RB18, the car which Aston Martin have allegedly ‘copied’.
Red Bull themselves have improved this season, explaining why Aston Martin are unable to compete with the energy drink giants despite the similar cars.
Red Bull are nine-tenths faster than they were last year, explaining why they are currently half a second faster than Aston Martin.
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Those at Red Bull have not been shy to admit that the AMR23 is very similar to the RB18, with Sergio Perez joking after the Bahrain Grand Prix that it is “nice to see three Red Bull cars on the podium.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has also made comments about the AMR23, joking that it is nice to see last year’s car doing so well, such is the similarity between the RB18 and the AMR23.
The pace of Aston Martin this season has proved what a smart signing Dan Fallows was for the team, with the financial backing of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll allowing the team to choose pretty much whichever drivers and members of staff that they desire.