Steiner: Szafnauer will be over Alpine 'pretty quick'

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner says his former Alpine counterpart Otmar Szafnauer will likely recover "pretty quick" from his disappointing spell with the Enstone squad.

Alpine and Szafnauer parted ways after the recent Belgian Grand Prix following the French team's decision to revamp its senior management structure, a move that also included the exit of the Enstone squad's long-standing sporting director Alan Permane.

The 58-year-old American, whose reputation as one of F1's most efficient operators was built during his years at the helm of Force India/Racing Point, had taken the reins of Alpine at the beginning of 2022.

But in light of the progress registered this season by two of its direct rivals - Aston Martin and McLaren - the manufacturer's corporate management wished to fast-track its path to success, an approach at odds with Szafnauer and Permane's diligent process of building up Alpine's performance over time.

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The disconnected timelines therefore prompted Alpine to remove its top staff.

"How it was done is not the normal way, but everybody does it their own way," noted Steiner when queried on Szafnauer's fate. "I think obviously Otmar will be disappointed, but he has been there before.

"If you are in this job, I think most of us have been there before. One door closes, another one opens. In the end, in this job, it is just a difficult job.

"You are in the public eye, things can happen, and you just have to deal with that.

"I’m not saying that it’s nice to deal with it, but it’s part of it. I think Otmar will be over it pretty quick.

"As I said he has been there before, and these things they happen, it’s part of our life as a Team Principal."

The void at Alpine left by Szafnauer's departure has been filled on an interim basis by the brand's VP of Motorsport Bruno Famin, who also heads Renault's engine department at Viry-Châtillon.

While Alpine has opted to part ways with two seasoned professionals, the team has also been left without a Chief Technical Officer following Pat Fry's decision to join Williams.

At the midway point of its campaign, Alpine currently sits sixth in F1's Constructors standings, well adrift from fourth place, the target it had established for itself ahead of the 2023 season.

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