Otmar Szafnauer explained his disagreement with Alpine’s top management that ultimately lead to his dismissal from his team boss role by a bizarre quote.
Alpine announced that Szafnauer will be leaving them with immediate effect over the course of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, as the team’s long serving Sporting Director Alan Permane was also shown the door following 34 years at Esntone.
The French Formula 1 team will be temporarily lead by Alpine’s Vice President of Motorsport, Bruno Famin, who attended the race weekend in Belgium, and insisted the reason behind Szafnauer’s departure was a disagreement about the timeline needed for the team to reach their goals.
Following his dismissal from Alpine, Szafnauer spoke to Sky Sports Germany, and claimed Alpine’s management did not give him the time he needed to turn things around.
“The reality is that changes take time,” he said. “I signed some good people from other teams, but they are still stuck in their contracts and won’t come until 2024 or 2025.
“You can’t really push development if people aren’t there. It takes time for people to come and it takes time for people to work together correctly.
Szafnauer channeling his inner Warren Buffett
“I always say, you can’t get nine women pregnant and hope you have a baby in a month,” Szafnauer finally added.
As a note, the former Alpine Team Principal was inspired by a Warren Buffett quote who said: “No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
Szafnauer took over as Alpine team boss at the start of the 2022 F1 season, and lead the team to fourth in the Constructors’ Standings.
However, under his watch, the team lost the services of Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin, while the driver lined to replace the Spaniard, Oscar Piastri jumped ship to McLaren leaving Alpine with eggs on their face following a bitter legal conflict with McLaren.
Things were even worse in 2023 as Alpine are struggling for performance and reliability where their operation has been marred with errors. They are currently sixth in the Constructors’ Standings.
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