Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that it was time to move on from his role as Team Principal as things were changing within the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team.
Rumours were rife around the end of the 2021 season that the American was on the verge of leaving Aston Martin to join the Alpine F1 Team, but these rumours were denied at the time.
Szafnauer ultimately left after the end of the season, and he later joined Alpine, as well as BWT, a long-time sponsor of the team throughout their time as the Racing Point Formula 1 Team through to when they became Aston Martin ahead of the 2021 season.
And the American says it was good for all parties that he left Aston Martin, with things changing behind the scenes, such as the appointment of Martin Whitmarsh as the new group CEO.
“At that point, there was no intention of leaving,” Szafnauer is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com when asked about the rumours at the end of 2021.
“But as time moved on and things changed at Aston, I thought it was better for all parties that I looked elsewhere.”
Szafnauer says he is currently enjoying his new role with Alpine, and he has been trying to get to know a lot of people in a very short amount of time. He believes the infrastructure is in place at the team to bring themselves back to the front of the field.
“I’m really enjoying it,” insisted Szafnauer. “This is my sixth day. I spent a few days at the factory, I tried to walk around and meet as many people as I can really in the first few days.
“I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of faces that I knew there from my past, be it from Honda or British American Racing, even Force India. I know how the people are.
“[There’s] great potential, like-minded people, pulling in the same direction and wanting to do well. They’ve got a great history there. They’ve won before, good infrastructure, so I really look forward to working with them all.”
