F1, Prost attacks after leaving the Alpine: “Rossi disrespected me”

Prost-Alpine: it’s goodbye amidst controversy. The official divorce with Enstone arrived on Monday and the disappointment of the Frenchman, who had been collaborating with the team since 2015, arrived frank after a few hours in L’Equipe . The Professor felt isolated throughout 2021 after the arrival of the CEO. Laurent Rossi, which left him rather unhappy. And if it was initially thought that his farewell was part of the Alpine restructuring, from which Marcin Budkowski, no longer executive director, was also excluded, Prost explained on Instagram that he had turned down an offer for the renewal of the contract – arrived at the weekend. of the final GP of Abu Dhabi – which however had an annual value, and therefore only for 2022.

“I often felt jealous”

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“2021 was a disturbing year for me – began Prost a L’Equipe – because I felt like someone who had been here for a long time had to leave. I accept the change, but it could have been done differently and not as it happened. “Prost went on to say that he is” no longer involved in the decision-making process. Sometimes I didn’t completely agree on a decision and had to insist on getting my word out. Even as a member of the board, I have heard of some decisions at the last minute. At least I should be informed in time, it’s called respect. Relationships (with Rossi, ed) became more and more complicated, and I often felt a lot of jealousy “.

“I want a team that listens to me”

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Prost himself then explained that Rossi “wants to be alone, not be bothered by anyone, nor receive advice, he wants all the spotlight for himself,” Prost said. “In Qatar he told me himself that he no longer needed a consultant, then he offered me a contract anyway, which I refused. However, I must say that I believed and continue to believe in this ambitious project, which has incredibly stimulated motivation. of the team. But today it is as if there was a push to put a lot of people aside. ” For the future, the next challenge “is to be in a team, to be listened to and involved in certain decisions”.

One step away from being nominated as president of the FIA

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Meanwhile, after Budkowski’s farewell, it is only a matter of time for Omar Szafnauer to be announced as Enstone’s new team principal, following the American’s farewell to Aston Martin earlier this month. “If it arrived I would be happy – commented Prost a L’Equipe – because I have nothing against change and F1 cannot always be dealt with by the same people. “Then a final curiosity: the Professor was one step away from being nominated as FIA president.” I would have liked, but by now it was too late “, he concluded: “I have been in F1 for almost 40 years covering all possible figures, from driver to team manager, passing through the boards of directors of McLaren and Renault. I even presided over the Grand Prix World Championship, the championship that the manufacturers wanted to create in the late 2000s to counter Bernie Ecclestone’s hold on F1. ”Eventually, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sulayem took over from Jean Todt.