Aston Martin could face legal action from Red Bull if the Silverstone-based team manages to close the gap to the championship leaders. This is due to the team’s significant improvement since the recruitment of Dan Fallows and Eric Blandin.
Both Blandin and Fallows previously worked in Red Bull’s aerodynamics department under the eyes of Adrian Newey. Their moves to Aston Martin in 2022 irked Helmut Marko, who has accused the team of copying Red Bull’s designs.
Aston struggled with a slow car in 2022, however, they have emerged as dark horses for the 2023 season. This has raised suspicion within Red Bull about potential espionage.
Has Aston Martin copied Red Bull?
According to a report by Business F1, Red Bull suffered a hack in March 2022. A lot of sensitive data regarding their F1 car were leaked. In the following race – the Spanish GP – the Aston Martin AMR22 was seen sporting side pods similar to the RB18.
The report claims the AMR23 is a copy of last year’s RB18, and Dan Fallows and Eric Blandin have disguised it with their upgrades. The car continues to be slower than the RB19 by almost a second, which is why Red Bull has not sought legal action yet.
Aston Martin struggled during the first half of the 2022 season. The team found momentum towards the end, yet only finished 7th in the standings. Compared to last year, this year’s cars have displayed unreal pace and performance, with Fernando Alonso bagging five podiums from the first seven races.
The team in green does not seem to be a threat to Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s title challenge. However, Red Bull will keep a close eye on the Silverstone-based team’s developments. If another data breach occurs in Red Bull, they will surely take the perpetrators to court.
Helmut Marko clarifies copying remarks
Fernando Alonso secured a podium in the 2023 season opener in Bahrain. While Aston Martin was busy celebrating the result, Helmut Marko accused former Red Bull employees of copying their former team’s concepts.
The Austrian remarked on Sky Sports, “Obviously, they have a good memory. We had three Red Bulls on the podium, only the third had a different engine!” However, Marko clarified his comments were just banter and not accusations. He claimed he made the statements as the AMR23 closely resembled Red Bull’s car.
However, the similarities are due to the creative restrictions in development since the regulations were introduced in 2022. Hence, the two cars look similar. However, under the cover, a lot is separating the two cars.
Both Red Bull and Aston Martin have different car concepts. Aston Martin uses a Mercedes powertrain and gearbox compared to Red Bull’s in-house department. Thus, Aston is restricted in the design to accommodate the parts.
But the Silverstone-based team is no stranger to copying. They previously imitated the Mercedes W10, dubbed ‘Pink Mercedes’ during the 2020 season while they were known as Racing Point.
