Otmar Szafnauer has broken his silence regarding the chaos surrounding his departure from the Alpine Formula 1 team, revealing a tumultuous atmosphere within the French team that led to his dismissal alongside long-time sporting director Alan Permanent. Their sudden departure during the Spa Grand Prix weekend marked a major change in the team, as Alpine underwent a dramatic internal overhaul with Flavio Briatore taking the role of “executive advisor” and Oliver Oakes replacing Bruno Famin , who had initially replaced Szafnauer.
Szafnauer, who joined Alpine in 2022 from Aston Martin with promises of full control, has now revealed he quickly found himself sidelined within the team’s operations. In a candid interview with the High Performance Podcastthe Romanian-born American expressed frustration at his lack of authority, saying he had been unfairly blamed for Alpine’s notorious failure to retain star driver Oscar Piastri, who was poached by McLaren . Szafnauer also suggested there were trust issues, saying some team members were unreliable.
“I couldn’t have predicted how things were going to go,” Szafnauer said when asked why he didn’t leave sooner. “I had a contract, and I wanted to do my best for my team. At the time, we were sixth in the championship, we had podiums, we were scoring points regularly. It wasn’t a disaster. It’s not like today, where they are ninth in the championship—it’s a disaster. »
Szafnauer stressed that although Alpine faced challenges, he believed the team was on the right track. “Sometimes you take one step back to take two steps forward,” he explained, adding that recruiting was underway and plans were afoot to turn Alpine into a top-three team.
One of Alpine’s most obvious weaknesses was its underperforming Renault turbo-hybrid engine, which Szafnauer admitted was a significant problem. He revealed that before his dismissal he had worked with the FIA on a plan to equalize power units between teams. “At my last Formula 1 Commission meeting in Belgium, I presented a strong argument for Alpine’s powertrains to return to an equal standard with others. We were 15 kilowatts—about 25 horsepower—less than our competitors, which made it difficult to compete,” Szafnauer said.
Alpine and Renault have since claimed that Szafnauer’s departure was due to a misalignment of expectations regarding results delivery times. However, Szafnauer remains adamant that he was not given a clear explanation. He believes the dispute was rooted in different visions on how to change the corporate culture at Alpine.
“I know how to create a winning mentality and a culture of psychological safety. That’s what I was working on,” Szafnauer said, explaining that Alpine wanted a different approach, one that included firing long-time employees who were performing well. “I was asked to do this, and I said no. This is not who I am. »
Szafnauer’s departure has left a cloud of uncertainty over Alpine, which continues to struggle in the 2024 season. Meanwhile, Szafnauer defends his efforts and insists his approach would have ultimately transformed the team as a serious competitor. “I worked on all fronts to improve Alpine, until my last day,” he concluded.
As Alpine moves forward with new management, questions remain about whether the team’s aggressive restructuring will bear fruit – or whether, as Szafnauer suggests, the team may have lost its way by breaking up of key personnel and their long-term vision.
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