So much thundered that it rained. Otmar Szafnauer left Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team after years in which he held positions of absolute importance in the team already named in the past Force India, Force India Racing Point and, until the end of 2020, Racing Point.
The formalization of Szafnauer’s farewell to Aston Martin, which arrived in the late morning today through a brief statement issued by the team based in Silverstone, is certainly not a surprise.
A few months ago Motorsport.com had already unveiled the plans of the Aston Martin manager, who had the clear intention of leaving the team even during the 2021 season. This intention was then blocked by the team, which thus held Szafnauer until the end of the year.
“Otmar Szafnauer has left the team and his role at Aston Martin, leaving him vacant until the replacement is chosen. The team would like to thank Szafnauer for his service and his contribution over the past 12 years and wish him the best for the future, considering the fact that it will accept new challenges “.
“Fortunately we are led and directed by a very strong group of people and we can afford to take the time to study and understand the situation well before announcing the new team structure. The team’s goal is currently to prepare the car. as competitive as possible for the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season “.
Aston Martin, in his statement, said the truth: Szafnauer, now a former team principal of the British team, will certainly not stay to watch or enjoy the rest with his family. Already on 11 November Motorsport.com – after the first indiscretions of AutoHebdo – had anticipated that Szafnauer had found a basis of agreement with Alpine, even without signing any contract.
The announcement of the link between Otmar and Alpine was expected for the weekend of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil but, as mentioned, the times expanded and Szafnauer remained in his place until the end of the season. The US engineer, who has Romanian citizenship, had already decided to leave Aston Martin after the arrival of former McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh in the team.
Now it is reasonable to expect Szafnauer’s arrival in Alpine, just as it will be interesting to understand Davide Brivio’s future: he will remain in Alpine anyway or, as is more likely, he will return to MotoGP after just one season spent at the top of the French team. Formula 1?
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