Otmar Szafnauer has been sacked by Alpine after the team failed to live up to its potential. The former boss could not join a new team soon after he was sacked; instead, he was sent on a mandatory gardening leave by the French team. Affording Szafnauer’s payroll would not be much of a problem as he used to get $1,000,000 a year. Therefore, Szafnauer is on a lengthy non-compete leave, according to ESPN.
Szafnauer has links with the American automaker Ford, who has tied up with Red Bull for the 2026 season and beyond. Given he is a Romanian-American, this also puts him in a sweet spot of having close ties with an American team if they enter the sport in the future.
However, for Szafnauer, it would be a while before he can jump into those teams. Furthermore, as per the rules, he will also have to serve mandatory gardening leaves before he is eligible to join a rival team.
Szafnauer forced into gardening leave
During ESPN’s F1 Unlapped panel discussion, F1 experts Laurence Edmondson, Katie George, and Nate Saunders came together to discuss the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix. There the trio talked about Szafnauer and his long gardening leave.
Adding to the discussion, Edmondson said, “I think he [Szafnauer] said that he’s not allowed to take another reform role for at least a year. A non-compete clause, gardening leave, that kind of thing.”
Admittedly, sacking the F1 boss found Alpine in deep criticism as fans and experts came together to criticize them. They thought that the team had no clue about their actions whatsoever.
Szafnauer’s exit brought huge Alpine criticism
After Otmar Szafnauer was sacked by Alpine, fans questioned the motive behind it. It is understood that the former boss was shown the exit door after the French team failed to live up to its expectations.
However, fans had no idea about how a team principal was responsible for the poor results that Alpine had this year. The Enstone-based team had three double DNFs so far which took a significant toll on their points.
Had that not been the case, they would have been in a better place, at least if Australian GP would not have ended in a DNF. Even Sky Sports F1 expert David Croft also slammed the Renault management recently.
Croft questioned how on Earth they named their F1 team Alpine instead of Alpine. He said, “I just don’t get Renault at the moment. I don’t get what they are trying to do in Formula 1.” Nevertheless, only the future can tell if sacking Szafnauer, that too in mid-season was the right call for Alpine.
