Otmar Szafnauer, once leading Alpine and Aston Martin, shared insights about the Oscar Piastri contract saga that saw Alpine miss out on the Australian talent.
He left the team in 2023 after a brief stint starting in 2022.
Szafnauer’s Role in Piastri’s Contract
On the High Performance Podcast, Szafnauer explained he wasn’t involved in the mishap with Piastri’s contract. “I had absolutely nothing to do with not signing Oscar Piastri correctly,” he stated. The error occurred back in November 2021, months before his arrival in March 2022. “They didn’t submit the CRB documents correctly and never signed a contract with them,” he added.
Piastri, initially part of Alpine’s academy, was announced by Alpine as their driver for 2023. However, Piastri himself declared he wouldn’t be racing for them, sparking legal battles between Alpine and McLaren over his contract.
The former boss continued, “When the CRB ruled against Alpine due to incorrect filings, they released a statement with my image on it.” He clarified that this decision was made by a department not under his control to shift blame away from others at Alpine.
Challenges in Team Control
Szafnauer revealed he lacked authority over key departments at Alpine. “I didn’t have control over the entire team,” he said. HR and finance reported through France rather than to him directly. Communications and marketing were also outside his purview, which he found problematic.
Initially promised full oversight, Szafnauer discovered upon joining that wasn’t true. He thought he could manage but recognized early on it would be challenging. Fans might wonder how such miscommunication could happen in a top-tier team.
Sometimes things don’t go as planned!
What do you think about all this?
