Szafnauer parted company with Alpine after the recent Belgian Grand Prix following a disagreement between himself and the sportscar manufacturer’s bosses over the timeline needed for it to win in F1.
While Szafnauer said his decades of experience in F1 prompted him to feel it would take until 2026 for Alpine to hit its target, the company’s senior management was adamant that it could be delivered much sooner.
With such a fundamental divergence over the long-term vision for the team, it was agreed that they should go their separate ways with immediate effect.
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Szafnauer’s departure, just over a year since he arrived at the squad, caused shock within the paddock – especially when Alpine also announced that the team’s highly-rated sporting director Alan Permane was also leaving.
Perez, who worked with Szafnauer at the Racing Point squad, thinks his departure was premature because it takes so long to build success in F1.
Asked about his reaction to Szafnauer’s departure, Perez said: “I think I was quite surprised with it, given how short notice it was.
“I think Otmar is great, [and] any person in that position, you’ve got to give them time. I think Otmar lacked time to really show his potential, which I know is huge because I've seen what he's done in other teams with very limited budgets and with not-so-limited budgets as well.
Source: Autosport