(Motorsport-Total.com) – Racing Bulls travels to Canada with cautious optimism. After the difficult weekend in Miami, the team hopes for a new step forward. Not only further technical updates are supposed to ensure this, but also the first track appearance of the new Technical Director Dan Fallows.
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Battle in the midfield intensifies further
The competition in the midfield is becoming increasingly fierce. Especially Alpine was able to make a statement in Miami and move ahead of Haas and Racing Bulls. The team benefited from the strong performance of the Mercedes power unit as well as an extensive update package that was used for the first time in Florida.
Racing Bulls had previously impressed mainly with high top speeds and strong defensive qualities. The two cars were difficult to overtake on the straights, which was reflected in three consecutive points-scoring race weekends: Australia, China – including the sprint – and Japan.
However, in Miami the team remained without points for the first time. The race events played a decisive role in this. 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 driven the Miami street circuit in any junior series before, so he made his debut there. Accordingly, his first race weekend on the demanding layout was difficult.
Second stage of the update package
For the Canadian Grand Prix, Racing Bulls now plans the next development stage. The team had already introduced a first update package at the previous race, which was originally intended for Bahrain but was postponed later.
The focus was mainly on changes to the floor and rear area of the car. In Montreal, the second tranche of the planned innovations will follow.
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Despite the longer race break, the engineers stuck to their development program. The update for Canada had been planned for a long time and is intended to help strengthen the position in the fiercely contested midfield of Formula 1 again.
Competitor Haas will also introduce new parts in Montreal. The US team had deliberately refrained from further developments in Miami for budget reasons. All the more important will be the weekend in Canada for the balance of power behind the top teams.
Dan Fallows officially starts at Racing Bulls
Besides the technical innovations, one personnel matter is especially in the spotlight in Montreal: Dan Fallows will work directly at the track for Racing Bulls for the first time. The Brit was a central figure at Red Bull for many years and was considered a close confidant of star designer Adrian Newey there.
In 2021, Fallows moved to Aston Martin, which was then investing heavily in experienced personnel to establish a long-term connection to the top. Despite some successes, including several podiums in the first half of the 2023 season, the project was overall more difficult than hoped. The paths parted at the end of 2024.
Since April, Fallows has officially been the new Technical Director of Racing Bulls. His appointment is considered an important part of an ongoing restructuring. This involves not only personnel changes but also the further development of infrastructure and the long-term orientation of the racing team.
With his experience, Fallows is expected to set new impulses, especially with regard to the still young era of regulations and the 2027 project, the foundations of which have already been laid.
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