Aston Martin technical director Dan Fallows said the Silverstone-based Formula 1 team’s new wind tunnel will give the team “more flexibility” when it arrives later this year and is a “really important” step in the team’s aspirations.
Ever since Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll placed suad under the British logo flag in 2021, he has invested his price in transforming the team from a midfield competitor to a team capable of fighting for world titles.
An important part of that effort has been investment in a new facility consisting of three buildings at existing Aston Martin’s in Silverstone, which will house a new simulator and a new wind tunnel.
Fallows is looking for those new tools, which will be launched later this year to help Aston Martin expand its Formula 1 2026 challenge.
“So the new simulator we have is obviously a simulator that will come online later this year, just like the wind tunnel,” Fallows said.
“They’re both, you know, huge innovations for us. “
Aston Martin currently relies on the use of Mercedes’ wind tunnel near Brackley, and Fallows claimed having its own aerodynamic testing center would help give the team “more flexibility” in the progression of its cars.
“It’s up to us to do a lot more of our own testing the way we want, and that gives us a lot more flexibility than we have lately,” he said.
“There have been many examples of things that we wish we had done and couldn’t do. There’s an explanation for why we spend millions and millions of pounds on those things.
The huge investment in Aston Martin’s new factory and the amenities it will house will work in tandem with several other key decisions made through Stroll, its ownership.
The fallow land is part of a major recruitment drive for a key group of workers that has intensified further in 2024.
Former Ferrari chassis technical director Enrico Cardile will be Aston’s new technical director from the start of the 2025 campaign and former Mercedes AMG HPP managing director Andy Cowell will be the team’s managing director of organisation in October.
These hires are likely to be strengthened further, with Aston Martin leading the race to sign Red Bull’s outgoing design guru Adrian Newey.
Additionally, in 2026, Honda will partner with Aston Martin to make it a full factory entry, which will see the team end its technical partnership with Mercedes, where it won the Silver Arrows’ powertrain, gearbox and rear suspension.
Everyone is in a position to make Aston Martin a contender in 2026 and the new wind tunnel is just one component of that puzzle that Fallows says contributes to the team’s “aspirations. “
He said: “It is vital for a team that has the same aspirations as us to have the right equipment to be able to progress to the next phase.
“So yeah, I’m excited to get into [the wind tunnel]. “
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