Former head of aerodynamics at Red Bull, Dan Fallows has paid tribute to outgoing boss Christian Horner, saying “we didn’t always see things the same way” but “he leaves an awesome legacy at RBR.”
Fallows joined Red Bull in 2006, just a year after Horner did, and spent 15 years at the team, during which the pair enjoyed an incredible amount of success.
Former Red Bull chief pays tribute to Christian Horner
The departure of Horner was the surprise news of Wednesday morning with parent company Red Bull GmbH making the decision on Tuesday.
The 51-year-old, who spent 20 years at the team, gave a final address at the team’s factory on Wednesday before leaving with immediate effect.
Aerodynamicist Fallows, meanwhile, departed Red Bull to join Aston Martin in 2022, but has paid tribute to his former boss.
“Whatever your opinion of Christian, he leaves an awesome legacy at RBR,” Fallows wrote on LinkedIn.
“Having worked with him for over 15 years, I can say he was an unfailing advocate for the team. Christian’s approach to the technical side was always light touch, preferring to support and enable rather than interfere or question decisions.
“That was certainly formed by his close relationship with Adrian Newey but continued even when Adrian chose to divide his time with the Valkyrie.
“Designing a great car isn’t enough, the other parts of the machine all have to be working flawlessly and Christian excelled at ensuring that happened. It wasn’t universally popular when he highlighted the many people involved in the car’s success, but it was certainly appreciated by the rest of the team.
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“We didn’t always see things the same way but, looking back, there is no doubt that Christian handled the complexities of the top job at Red Bull Racing successfully. I would be extremely surprised if another team doesn’t see this as a big opportunity.”
Fallows follow-up role at Aston did not come with as much success and when Newey and former Ferrari Technical Director for Chassis Enrico Cardile arrived, Fallows was moved to a different role before leaving the company entirely in April.
In Horner’s place comes Laurent Mekies but the former Racing Bulls Team Principal has been confirmed as CEO with the Team Principal role currently left unfilled.
Alan Permane has stepped into the role vacated by Mekies at Racing Bulls.
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