Otmar Szafnauer Critiques Alpine’s Management Woes: A Deep Dive into the F1 Team’s Internal Struggles

Otmar Szafnauer criticizes Alpine management for being "troublesome"

"A number of issues arose at Alpine, among them was the fact that I wasn't in charge of the whole team."

Otmar Szafnauer has characterized Alpine's meddling upper-level management as "troublesome".

Szafnauer served as the team principal for Alpine F1 for about a year and a half.

His unexpected exit was finally revealed during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

After their departure from the team, Alpine has faced challenges, falling to ninth place in the constructors' standings in 2024.

During his appearance on the High Performance podcast, Szafnauer disclosed that the primary issue he faced was the lack of "control" he had over the whole team, even though he held the position of team principal.

"Szafnauer pointed out that a significant issue at Alpine was his lack of authority over the whole team."

"For instance, I immediately understood that HR (Human Resources) was not under my supervision; instead, it answered to our offices in France. Similarly, the finance department was not my responsibility but was managed through our French headquarters."

"The communications team and the marketing division, particularly the commercial aspect, were not under my supervision. I was aware that this situation would likely lead to issues."

Prior to accepting the position, the impression given was that I'd be in charge of everyone. However, upon starting, it turned out not to be true.

"From the start, I believed I could handle it, yet I recognized it was simply fraught with issues."

Alpine has emerged as one of the major letdowns of the 2024 season, accumulating merely 13 points across eight races.

They brought in Flavio Briatore as a high-level consultant to help revitalize the team.

Szafnauer spoke candidly about his previous team's season.

"He mentioned that he's unsure of their current standing in the championship, possibly ninth or around that, emphasizing that their situation is disastrous at the moment."

"At that time, indeed, it was a slight retreat, but occasionally, you retreat slightly to advance further."

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