At the Spanish Grand Prix, the AMR22 was just one of many heavily revised Formula 1 cars, but it still drew everyone’s attention. The changes to the sidepods and internal cooling architecture have resulted in the Aston Marton looking strikingly similar to Red Bull’s RB18
Aston’s changes were debated throughout the weekend in Barcelona, even after the FIA cleared the team of wrongdoing.
Red Bull seemed unconvinced and suspected a possible illegal transfer of intellectual property, such as by employees who had switched teams. An internal investigation was even launched to determine whether such a breach might have taken place in this case.
Dan Fallows is one of several ex-Red Bull aerodynamicists who recently joined Aston. His departure from Red Bull sparked a legal battle between the two sides over when he would be allowed to leave, which he was finally allowed to do on April 2 this year.
Vettel defends Fallows: “A very good guy”
In the controversy surrounding the parallels between the two cars, his name inevitably keeps popping up. Sebastian Vettel thinks that’s unfair. When asked about the debate about the latest Aston update, the German says: “I think at some point it just wasn’t fair anymore, especially in relation to the effort that was made to further develop the car.”
“Secondly, on a personal level with Dan Fallows. I don’t think it was fair. Some things that were said weren’t right in my opinion. He’s a very good guy. I know him from my time at Red Bull.”
Vettel reiterates: “Some of the things that were said just weren’t right and I’d like to hear that… No apologies, you’ll never hear anything like that. But what I mean is that some of the things that were said, just weren’t fair.”
Aston has said it has developed two design concepts for the AMR22 – one implemented on the car the team entered the season with; the second, which is now deployed, is a similar concept to that of the RB18.
Speaking in the press conference ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix at the weekend, Vettel’s team-mate Lance Stroll said: “We designed the car and the FIA said it was fine and legal – they let us compete. I guess parts of it look similar to the Red Bull , but we at the factory designed it and the team did an incredible job of getting all the parts to Barcelona.”
Stroll: Aston worked it all out for itself
Because before the race, things had gone “haywire” for many weeks. “It was a big challenge to get all the parts for both cars to Barcelona.” Vettel added that Aston made the decision to switch to the alternative concept “around the first race” of the 2022 season.
“There was uncertainty as to which path was more promising,” explains the four-time world champion. “The decision was made very early on – I don’t remember exactly but I think before the first race, around the first race. A lot of work has been done from there because it’s basically a new car.”
“With the previous car we could see that there were some difficulties that other teams are also struggling with,” reveals Vettel. “We haven’t managed to make much progress with it, so we think that’s the better direction.”