Alpine announce departure of Otmar Szafnauer and LEGENDARY sporting director

Alpine

Alpine announce departure of Szafnauer and LEGENDARY sporting director

The pair have been let go as the team continue to clean house

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Friday 28 July 2023 14:56 Updated: 23:09

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Alpine are parting ways with team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane after a couple of disastrous races, the team have confirmed.

CEO Laurent Rossi was let go earlier in the month, and L'Equipe broke the news that he's now been joined by Permane and Szafnauer as the team completely clean house.

Last weekend in Hungary was the nadir of the team's season, with both drivers failing to even complete a single competitive lap after a crash in the first corner effectively ended both of their races.

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Alpine statement

"Otmar will continue his duties as normal for this weekend’s race in Belgium, before leaving the team ahead of the summer break," a team statement read. "The team would like to thank Otmar for his hard work over the past 18 months and for leading the team in achieving fourth place in the 2022 Constructors' Championship. The team wishes him the best for the future.

"The team can also confirm it will part ways with Sporting Director Alan Permane by mutual agreement. Alan will also continue his role this weekend in Belgium before departing ahead of the summer break. After 34 distinguished years at Enstone, the team extends its thanks to Alan and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.

"The team also announces that Pat Fry will leave the team to continue his career in Formula 1 elsewhere.

"Bruno Famin, VP, Alpine Motorsports, will assume the role of Interim Team Principal of BWT Alpine F1 Team from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards. Current Alpine Academy Director Julian Rouse is named Interim Sporting Director, with Matt Harman leading the technical team at Enstone. Both Julian and Matt will report to Bruno Famin."