(Motorsports news) By “mutual agreement,” Otmar Szafnauer will go following this weekend’s Belgian GP. Prior to departing the squad for the summer break, Alpine stated that he “would continue his duties as normal for this weekend’s race in Belgium. The team would like to express their gratitude to Otmar for his efforts over the previous 18 months and for helping them place fourth in the 2022 Constructors’ Championship. The group sends him its warmest wishes for the future.
Bruno Famin, who was appointed earlier this month to the newly created position of VP of Alpine Motorsport, will take over for him in the interim. Famin, who formerly worked at Peugeot and the FIA, was the head of the Renault unit in Viry-Chatillon before to his most recent position.
After the break, Alpine’s sporting director Alan Permane, who has spent 34 years working for the Enstone organization in a variety of capacities, will also be leaving the group. Director of Alpine Academy Julian Rouse will take over for him in the interim. The adjustments follow a recent dramatic management shake-up at Alpine, which was spearheaded by Luca de Meo, the general manager of Renault, and saw former CEO Laurent Rossi of Szafnauer go into special projects.
Otmar Szafnauer, 58, who had recently left his position as team principal at Aston Martin, Szafnauer joined Alpine in February of last year. Before overseeing the changeover to Lawrence Stroll’s ownership and the accompanying renaming of the team as Aston Martin, he had been with the Silverstone team since 2009, working with it during its Force India and Racing Point eras.
Otmar Szafnauer represented Alpine at the F1 Commission meeting on Friday in Spa in spite of his impending resignation. Only last week in Hungary did the American declare his confidence in De Meo, reiterating the Renault CEO’s promise to grant him 100 races to turn the squad into a victorious one.
When asked about the effects of Rossi’s decision, Szafnauer responded, “You’ve got to remember that Laurent is doing special projects currently. “Yes, he hired me, but so did Luca, and in the end it was Luca de Meo who sat down and persuaded me to join his initiative.The initiative was the 100-race Alpine project, and I believe we are about 30 or so races into it. So, we still have about 60 races left, which will take another three years before we start winning.“
It requires time. Everyone has needed time. I am confident in Luca’s ability to keep his word. He promised to start winning 100 races, and sometimes you have to go backwards in order to get forward. “Therefore, I have no doubt that Luca will keep his word and give me the necessary 100-races time.”
In 1989, Permane began working for the former Benetton group as an electronics engineer. He continued to be a member of the team throughout the Michael Schumacher era, which saw the German win world titles in 1994 and 1995. During a period when the team won two more championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, he worked with a number of drivers as a junior racing engineer in 1996 and as a full race engineer the following year.
During a period of Szafnauer when the team won two more championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, he worked with a number of drivers as a junior racing engineer in 1996 and as a full race engineer the following year. During a period when the team won two more championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, he worked with a number of drivers as a junior racing engineer in 1996 and as a full race engineer the following year.
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