Ex-Alpine F1 boss SLAMS Laurent Rossi 'arrogance' after mass staff exodus

Alpine

Ex-Alpine F1 boss SLAMS Rossi 'arrogance' after mass staff exodus

Alpine got rid of Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry in one swing of the axe

Joe Ellis

Wednesday 2 August 2023 16:57

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Former Alpine team principal Cyril Abiteboul has slammed Laurent Rossi for being arrogant at the start of the year.

The French manufacturer was boasting about the fact its car was under the weight limit as the rest of the grid tried to get as close as possible.

Alpine thought they could therefore use ballast in specific places to be fast everywhere but results have not come in 2023.

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As a result, Rossi chose to let go of Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry in one go as the team undergoes a big rebuild.

Abiteboul: Beyond impatience

Pierre Gasly scored a podium in the Belgian GP sprint on a turbulent weekend for the team

"This reflects dissatisfaction with the results and most likely a loss of patience on the part of the Renault group's management committee," Abiteboul, now Hyundai's World Rally team principal, said to France Info.

"Beyond impatience, there may also have been a bit of arrogance at the start of the season or overconfidence. When you don't confront reality, after a while you can tell yourself stories.

"It is not excluded that the story that we told ourselves internally was too flattering. But Alpine isn't that far off either.

"The previous management wanted to do a complete reset after my departure, which had dismissed about fifteen people. We underestimate him all the time in F1 as in other ultra-competitive sectors: getting someone from the competition takes time.

"When you lose 15 people and recruit… It takes two to three years before it takes effect. The reshuffle that Laurent Rossi wanted to do, we didn't even really see what he gave."