Why did Alpine expel team principal Otmar Szafnauer?

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi was fired just before the Hungarian GP.

Why did Alpine expel team principal Otmar Szafnauer?

Alan Permane and Otmar Szafnauer (Credits: F1)

Alpine has been struggling throughout the season. Most recently, both of their cars were forced to retire in the first lap of the Hungarian GP after an early incident in the race. The team stands in sixth position in the constructor’s standings, with their drivers in tenth and twelfth positions in the driver’s standings.

Alpine’s parent company Renault has made some stern decisions after Alpine’s continued upsetting results. This includes the firing of team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane. Interim team principal Bruno Famin explained that Szafnauer’s timeline for Alpine differed greatly from the team’s.

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Famin said that the summer break will be used to determine where the team can improve. He says that they aim to retain their fourth place or be higher in the constructor’s championship.

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“What is happening is the second stage of the Alpine plan. It’s not going backwards, it’s moving forwards. The key objective is we want to win races and championships as soon as possible. We need to improve constantly our cars, the full package, from race to race, from year to year,” Famin told Autosport.

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Alpine loses key team member to Williams amidst reshuffling of management

Pat Fry
Pat Fry (Credits: F1)

Alpine is undergoing massive changes in its management after having a disappointing season so far. Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi was fired just before the Hungarian GP, followed by team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane. As chaos ensues Alpine, they suffer a big blow as they lose their chief technical officer, Pat Fry, to Williams.

Pat Fry has been with Alpine since 2020. He has spent much of his career with McLaren, where he played a major part in them securing 66 GP wins, one constructor’s championship, and three drivers’ championships. He was also a race engineer and chief engineer for world champions Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.  

“I am thrilled to be joining Williams as Chief Technical Officer. The team has a rich heritage in Formula 1 and I am excited to contribute to it’s future success. I believe in the team’s potential and, together, we will strive for excellence on and off the track,” said Fry.

As Alpine goes through all these changes, it will be interesting to see how they perform in the Belgian Grand Prix. The team will certainly look to bag some points after their nightmare performance in Hungary.

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