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Alpine confirm Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane to leave team after Belgian GP

Alpine confirm Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane to leave team after Belgian GP | Formula 1®

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-alpine-confirm-team-principal-otmar-szafnauer-and-sporting-director.13bpB2bdAZnfQCpbv3BZGL.html

Alpine have announced that they will part ways with Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer by mutual agreement following the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.

Alpine confirm Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane to leave team after Belgian GP | Formula 1®

Didn't expect to see this until the end of the season!

11 comments

Mateoto

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I feel like Mattia Binotto might be a good option for them. I doubt they will get Cyril back. So what other option would be available for 2024 without getting someone outside of F1? And that seems not what Alpine and Renault need.

BURN

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I can see both sides of the argument. Someone outside of F1 could bring in some decent success, but also may struggle with the politics of F1. The F1 TP pool is small, and nobody outside of Mattia seems to be available.

chrisphero

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The question is, does anyone want to step in his place as team principal?

Mateoto

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It's a prestige position. We had the same discussions about the Ferrari TP position. Seemingly no one wanted internal Ferrari politics, but we were proven the opposite.

Judging from the whole picture: What other team has the infrastructure and logistics already built up to success? Renault doesn't want to spend anything on motorsports, but everything is already there - even an engine department.

Compared to Aston or other teams, you don't need to look for investors at Renault/Alpine, which makes it more attractive in the long run.

Minus the internal French politics, it looks like a perfect opportunity.

ronalicious

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i'm new to following F1, so i'll bring in a fresh look! just waiting for my call up :P

chrisphero

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What is happening with alpine? Dare I say it, do they make all these changes to actually get to the top again?

It is this just some internal political fight?

This is also very out of the blue, or did I miss something?

slackj_87

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I didn't think Otmar would last until next season, especially after losing Piastri and what looks like a slapping around by McLaren.

Didn't expect it to happen midway through the season.

chrisphero

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Yeah, your right… it’s just a shame how they handled the whole Piastri situation, really unprofessional.

This midway drop feels certainly quite rushed, as if they wanted to clean house ASAP… maybe they already have someone in mind

Ejh3k

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More like Out-Mar

krische

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Bring back Flavio!

TheRealKuni

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It’ll be sad to lose the most Detroit accent from the grid.

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