Otmar Szafnauer (USA) Alpine F1 Team, Team Principal. 17.06.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 9, Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal, Canada, Qualifying Day.
New Alpine vice-president Pedro Famin has dismissed any rumours that his hire has been made with the intention of applying pressure onto Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer.
It was announced recently that Famin would be coming on board to create a revised structure in the Enstone side’s ranks that will see Szafnauer report to Famin, who will report directly to Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.
Following a dreadful opening to the current campaign, Rossi declared that changes would be on the horizon unless performances drastically improved.
Whilst Esteban Ocon scooped a podium for the Anglo-French outfit in Monaco, McLaren’s recent resurgence that saw it scoop a double top-four finish at the British Grand Prix has demoted Alpine down to fifth position in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, Famin says that his newfound position is entirely part of a restructuring process to share the workload as Alpine bids to turn around its fortunes in 2023.
“Although we have other projects, F1 is our priority programme because its impact is significantly higher than all other disciplines,” he explained via French outlet L’Equipe.
“There is a lot of work to do and that will take up a lot of my time.
“Laurent Rossi has simply delegated the monitoring of the sporting plans to me. There is a lot of work to do in all fields and my priority is to improve in all areas.”
Rossi was previously quoted in 2021 as outlining that the team possessed a 100-race goal to get to the front of the Formula 1 grid.
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. 09.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Day.
However, the Frenchman doubled down on those comments last month, highlighting that the target number might need to be extended up to 120 races.
But Famin believes there is not a set formula to achieve success in the sport, “because if there was, everyone would apply it and it would be just as difficult to win.
“The goal is to be competitive, to be in a position to win races… but it takes time to get there. In the case of F1, we know where we are and where we want to get to, but there is no specific time frame.”
After being leapfrogged by Aston Martin over the winter and subsequently being out-developed by McLaren, Szafnauer has confirmed Alpine will respond with an upgrade package before the summer break.
Alpine currently sits 12 points behind its Woking-based rivals, whom it pipped for fourth position in the standings last term.
Two races remain before F1 heads for its annual summer break, starting with this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Hungaroring holds good memories for Alpine as it represents the venue where Ocon took a remarkable maiden victory for the team in its current guise two years ago.
Keyword: Alpine’s Famin hire not intended to apply pressure on Szafnauer