After the departure of Otmar Szafnauer from Aston Martin became official, Alpine has confirmed the signing of the Romanian engineer to take charge of the operations of the Anglo-French team in which Fernando Alonso plays.
It was an open secret that was even hinted at during the course of the last phase of the 2021 season, but now it is official: Otmar Szafnauer He has chosen Alpine F1 as his destination after confirming his departure from Aston Martin on January 5.
a long time ago, laurent rossi He anticipated that there would be changes in Alpine’s management structure with the aim of facing the new era of Formula 1 with guarantees. The CEO of Alpine Cars considers that the team has significantly improved its procedures and efficiency during the 2021 campaign, but that some adjustments were necessary before starting the 2022 season.
This year will be crucial for the future of the teams, as the arrival of the new regulations will mean that everyone will have to start from scratch, which will give them all new opportunities. It is a particularly important moment for the teams that want to aspire to the title after some difficult years: Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine itself, which with the arrival of Otmar Szafnauer seeks to acquire a person with great experience in Formula 1 who put in front as team manager or Main Team.
Experience and baggage
Otmar Szafnauer (Semlac, 57 years old), is a Romanian electrical engineer who has extensive training and experience in business and finance. He became program manager for Ford in the United States in 1986 and his presence in Formula 1 began with the BAR team in 1998.
Subsequently, he became one of the strong men of the team Slingfrom which he left after the Japanese brand made the decision to sell the team to Ross Brawn, current Formula 1 sports director.
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As a result of that, Otmar Szafnauer directed his steps towards Silverstone, the town where the Force India team was established and where it remained after its subsequent transformation into Racing Point. After the purchase of the British team by Lawrence Stroll, who made it the official formation of Aston-Martinthe Romanian engineer became the Canadian’s right-hand man, serving until now as executive director and team manager.
In Alpine, Szafnauer will meet Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon as regular drivers. In addition, he will be accountable to Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine Cars and who took command of the team after the departure of Cyril Abiteboul. Now, it is to be hoped that, with Szafnauer fully focused on Alpine’s sporting performance as an F1 team, the French engineer will devote himself fully to laying the financial and advertising foundations for the brand.