Aston Martin developed surprising test involving kids to avoid 'green Red Bull' repeat

Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows revealed that he developed a surprising test to ensure F1 cars were dissimilar. The Briton developed this test after his team was accused of copying Red Bull's design philosophy earlier in the season.

Fallows said:

“I know that new cars always have to pass the test of my children. I put them in front of my children, and if they say they look different than then they look different. They will say if they all look the same dad."

The 2022 F1 regulations saw teams scuppering to get on top of the new rules and build cars better than their rivals. In the zeal to do so, many concepts were either too radical or too similar. Aston Martin found itself dealing with the latter.

At the 2022 F1 Spanish GP in Barcelona, the Silverstone-based team introduced changes to their AMR22 which had striking similarities to Red Bull's RB18. Consequently, the AMR22 was dubbed the 'green Red Bull', similar to the 'pink Mercedes' that the team's previous iteration Racing Point was termed in 2020. Fingers were also pointed at Fallows, who had joined Aston Martin from Red Bull only this year.

The team, however, denied any allegations of them copying Red Bull. Mike Krack, the team's principal, earlier stated that he was frustrated with the allegations that were put against them. He revealed that the team was aware of allegations being raised against them, and hence, were relaxed. An FIA investigation followed, which found the Silverstone-based team not guilty.

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Aston Martin technical director reveals changes in the car in 2023

While the Aston Martin was indeed eerily similar to the Red Bull in Spain, the team's technical director, Dan Fallows, revealed that the 2023 car will be significantly different. He also stated that with the regulations, it is difficult to do much with the cars to make them look different. He said:

“There is a limit to what we can do with the current rules."

“But within the envelope of the rules that we have, then yes, there are significant differences on 23.”

Although the AMR22 looked similar to the RB18, its performance was hardly of any comparison. While Red Bull won both championships early into the season, Aston Martin mostly suffered either due to their slow pace or their reliability. They only finished P7 with 55 points in their bag, chasing Alfa Romeo. This was the team's second year after their rebranding in the 2021 season, and with Fernando Alonso with them in 2023, they expect to score a lot higher.