Racing Bulls is bringing the next phase of its update package to the track—at the same time, Dan Fallows is making his debut as Technical Director at the circuit
Racing Bulls is heading to Canada with cautious optimism. After a difficult weekend in Miami, the team is hoping to take another step forward. This is expected to be driven not only by further technical updates but also by the first track outing of new Technical Director Dan Fallows.
Competition in the midfield is becoming increasingly fierce. Alpine, in particular, made a strong statement in Miami, moving ahead of Haas and Racing Bulls. The team benefited from the strong performance of the Mercedes power unit as well as a comprehensive update package that was deployed for the first time in Florida.
Racing Bulls had previously impressed mainly with high top speeds and strong defensive capabilities. The two cars were difficult to overtake on the straights, which resulted in three consecutive race weekends with points finishes: Australia, China—including the Sprint—and Japan.
In Miami, however, the team failed to score points for the first time. The race itself played a decisive role. Liam Lawson had to retire early after a gearbox failure led to a collision with Pierre Gasly.
Teammate Arvid Lindblad faced an additional challenge: The young driver had never previously raced on the Miami street circuit in any junior series, so this was his debut there. Consequently, his first race weekend on the demanding layout proved to be difficult.
Second phase of the update package
Racing Bulls is now planning the next development phase for the Canadian Grand Prix. The team had already introduced an initial update package at the previous race, which was originally intended for Bahrain but was later postponed.
The focus was primarily on changes to the underbody and the rear of the car. The second tranche of planned updates will now follow in Montreal.
Despite the extended break between races, the engineers stuck to their development program. The update for Canada had been planned for some time and is intended to help strengthen the team’s position in the competitive midfield of Formula 1.
Rival team Haas will also introduce new parts in Montreal. The U.S. team had deliberately opted out of further developments in Miami for budgetary reasons. This makes the weekend in Canada all the more important for the balance of power behind the top teams.
In addition to the technical updates, one personnel change in particular is the focus of attention in Montreal: Dan Fallows will be working directly at the track for Racing Bulls for the first time. The Briton was a key figure at Red Bull for many years and was considered a close confidant of star designer Adrian Newey.
In 2021, Fallows moved to Aston Martin, which was investing heavily in experienced personnel at the time to close the gap to the top in the long term. Despite some successes, including several podium finishes in the first half of the 2023 season, the project proved more challenging overall than hoped. The two parties parted ways at the end of 2024.
Since April, Fallows has officially been the new technical director of Racing Bulls. His appointment is seen as a key part of an ongoing restructuring. This involves not only personnel changes but also the further development of the infrastructure and the long-term direction of the racing team.
With his experience, Fallows is expected to provide new impetus, particularly with regard to the still-young era of regulations and the 2027 project, the foundations of which are already being laid.
