Written by Morgan Holiday, Edited by Aiden Hover
Former Aston Martin Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer has officially been announced for his new role at BWT Alpine F1 team. Szafnauer will replace Marcin Budkowski and act as Team Principal from 2022 onwards, in an effort by Alpine to strengthen its management structure.
Szafnauer has been working in Formula 1 since 1998, with reputable teams such as BAR, Honda, and most recently Aston Martin. He brings a huge amount of experience in leadership to the team, and the successes he has seen, especially with Force India and Racing Point prove that he has what it takes to raise the level of operations.
He commented: “I am thrilled to join BWT Alpine F1 Team and ready to get to work with everyone to achieve our challenge: bring the team to fight for the Championship within the next 100 races. My attention is focused on preparing for the start of the season in Bahrain. As one of the three-car manufacturers involved in Formula 1, Alpine is fully armed to achieve its ambition, I can’t wait to start the journey!”
Alpine’s restructuring also includes the appointment of Bruno Farim as their Executive Director, who will join the team coming from a role as Deputy Sport Secretary-General for the FIA. He will head up operations at the team’s factory in Viry-Châtillon. Both Farim and Szafnauer will report directly to Laurent Rossi, Alpine’s CEO.
“It’s great to be back in competition,” said Farim, “And even greater to join Alpine, with such ambition and unique engineering capacities. Viry-Châtillon is among the greatest factories one could dream of, I can’t wait to join its amazing talents, and to work closely with the teams in Enstone, Dieppe, Les Ulis and Boulogne-Billancourt.”
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