Gunther Steiner breaks silence on Otmar Szafnauer’s ‘unusual’ sacking by Alpine

Gunther Steinerfinally spoke up on Otmar Szafnauer's exit from Alpine.

Gunther Steiner breaks silence on Otmar Szafnauer’s ‘unusual’ sacking by Alpine

Gunther Steiner (image via ESPN), Otmar Szafnauer (image via The Independent)

Alpine made a shock announcement at the start of the Belgian GP weekend. The Renault works team sacked Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane. The two key figures departed the Enstone-based squad at the end of the race weekend. Now, Haas Team Principal Gunther Steiner has finally spoken up on Szafanuer’s exit.

Steiner believed that Alpine sacked its key personnel in a rather different manner. The Haas team boss highlighted that Otmar Szafnauer had faced such situations before, most recently after he left Aston Martin mid-way through 2022. He said, as reported by Motorsports.com, “How it went is not the usual way. But everyone does it their own way. Otmar will of course be disappointed, but he has already been in such a situation.”

YouTube video

The Italian believed another opportunity would soon appear for the former Alpine team boss. Gunther Steiner believed that Otmar Szafnauer needed to deal with this exit properly as he remains in the public eye as a popular figure in the paddock. Steiner explained, “One door closes, the other opens. In the end, it is just a difficult job.”

FS Video

Discover: Five times Red Bull replaced a driver in the middle of an F1 season

Gunther Steiner admits Otmar Szafnauer’s exit part of the job in F1

Otmar Szafnauer and Gunther Steiner (image via BVM Sports)
Otmar Szafnauer and Gunther Steiner (image via BVM Sports)

Gunther Steiner was convinced the former Force India boss would make peace with his fallout with Alpine. The 58-year-old claimed that such times are the norm for Team Principals in F1, with teams changing their leadership structures to keep up with their targets. The Haas team boss concluded, “I think Otmar will be over it soon. As I said, he’s been through it before, and things like this just happen, it’s part of our life as a team boss.”

Otmar Szafnauer has been linked with Michael Andretti’s Andretti-Cadillac F1 bid. As per rumors, the Romanian-American could soon serve as the Team Principal of the proposed American F1 team. Although, it remains to be seen if Andretti’s bid is even accepted into Formula 1, let alone the leadership appointments made by the former F1 driver.

Thus, Gunther Steiner admitted that Otmar Szafnauer’s sacking was unusual. The Haas team boss believed this was a normal occurrence in Formula 1 and insisted that Szafnauer would soon find a new job on the grid. However, it remains to be seen if and when the Romanian-American returns to the pinnacle of motorsport.

In case you missed it: