Former Force India and Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer confirms talks with Andretti about a leading role in the potential Formula 1 team. Andretti actually wanted to join Formula 1 as the eleventh team in 2025 at the earliest, but was harshly rejected at the end of January.
Joining the team is off the table for now, but Szafnauer reveals that he could have played a role in the project after being fired from Alpine in the summer of 2023.
He confirmed to Motor Sport: “I had a few conversations with Michael Andretti. He even called me before I went to Alpine and I told him that I would be happy to help him.”
“However, the Americans are missing a place in Formula 1 – without that, Szafnauer won’t join the team either. “They have to get the place in Formula 1 first, because how am I supposed to help them without a place?” he says.
Even before the cancellation became known, he said: “If they have been accepted, then I will be able to talk about being involved, starting them and getting them rolling.” But that probably won’t happen now.
After leaving Alpine, the 59-year-old is currently without a job in Formula 1. However, he emphasizes that he would like to continue and use his experience somewhere. He still has “five to seven years” left in him, says Szafnauer.
“Maybe I have too high an opinion of myself, but I believe I still have the skills to put together a good team that can be competitive in Formula 1.”
“Impatient” Szafnauer hopes to return
However, he currently has to wait for Alpine’s release period before he can get back to the sport: “Hopefully I can come back soon. The problem is that I’m a little bit impatient.”
If he had started with Andretti in any way, patience would have been required. Simply going from zero to 100 with lots of new people doesn’t work, as he had already noticed at BAR.
Even with an established team like Alpine, major changes are not possible overnight. But that was the problem when he was there: “The top bosses wanted success as quickly as possible,” he criticizes. “I told them what was possible and they said they didn’t have the time.”
Criticism of Alpine bosses: “They don’t seem to understand it”
Szafnauer had already criticized his ex-team a few weeks ago and described the bosses as “naive”. Now he’s doing it again.
“It seems they don’t understand that it takes time to change a culture and get new skills that we didn’t have. They just don’t have the technical skills they need.”
He himself is convinced that he has done “a good job” and “the right changes” in Enstone. He also told the bosses that, but progress wasn’t happening fast enough for them.
“And that was the reason for our disagreement. And I was given less than ten days’ warning of their decision, which then led to my departure in Belgium,” said Szafnauer.