Dan Fallows is not entirely satisfied with the current regulations of Formula 1. Aston Martin’s technical director thinks they are too restrictive for the teams and also thinks it has not worked out for the championship, he says in the podcast Beyond The Grid .
Fallows emphasizes that the current regulations, introduced in 2022 to create more tension on the track, have been introduced with the right intentions and after much research. “But we now have a set of regulations that are by far the most complicated in F1 history in terms of the length of both the sporting and technical regulations and by far the most complicated to actually enforce. The task of the FIA is exponentially more difficult than in recent years. I just don’t think that has been beneficial.’
The former head of aerodynamics at Red Bull Racing thinks that the current restrictive regulations make it inevitable that even more similar car designs will be added. “The reason a lot of cars look the same or very, very similar is that the regulations make you design a car like that. For example, there’s an incredibly complicated set of regulations for the front wing, so you’re essentially designing it into a very specific shape.”
Aston Martin not happy with lack of technical freedom
Fallows therefore does not believe that these regulations offer enough technical freedom, where it was different in the past. For example, the technician points to the fact that previously you only had a few guidelines that you had to comply with. The difference with now would mainly be that you already have to design a part in a certain way, without being able to give enough of your own interpretation to it.
According to Fallows, that has not been beneficial for the tension on the track, something that should be improved with these regulations. Red Bull has only become more dominant in recent months and probably mainly due to innovations that are not visible to the outside world ‘Personally, I would much rather see completely different cars with crazy shapes and new, innovative ideas. But I accept that maybe I just think that way,” explained the Aston Martin chief executive.
For example, cars that look completely different compared to each other would be good for the fans. “And not just in sidepod territory,” Fallows continues. “We’ve always established, even from the discussions we’ve had about these regulations in the past, that it’s not just a driver’s formula. People want to watch a sport where the cars make the difference.’
