Axed Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has admitted the one key issue stopping him from joining the Andretti Formula 1 project after speaking with Michael Andretti.
Szafnauer has so far remained out of work since leaving Alpine after one-and-a-half seasons in charge. The Enstone-based squad unceremoniously fired the 59-year-old following FP1 at the Belgian GP in 2023. Yet he stayed at Spa-Francorchamps to see out the weekend’s race.
Alpine hired Szafnauer ahead of the 2022 season but he did not oversee a successful start to the 2023 campaign. The Renault-owned outfit left Belgium sixth in the constructors’ table with 57 points. Alpine would go on to end last season in sixth place, with 120 points in total.
Otmar Szafnauer opens up on his talks to join Andretti in F1
Now, Szafnauer’s next role may be with Andretti as the American motorsport giants target a spot on the Formula 1 grid in 2025. But the Romanian-American engineer will not agree any move to join the IndyCar and Formula E powerhouse’s project until they get F1’s green light.
“I have had some discussions with Michael Andretti,” Szafnauer told Motor Sport Magazine. “He’d called me even before I went to Alpine, and I told him I’d love to help him. They have to get the F1 entry first because, without an entry, how can I help him?
“If they are accepted, then I will be able to discuss getting involved, getting them started [and] getting them moving.”
Andretti received the FIA’s green light to join Formula 1 last October. But Liberty Media and the 10 existing teams must also sign off on their arrival. Yet Andretti – who have partnered with General Motors, via Cadillac – already have one car in Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne.
Otmar Szafnauer could be a coup after his success at Force India
Andretti have been working in Toyota’s wind tunnel since October on a 2024-spec car. They remain intent on joining the Formula 1 grid in 2025 or 2026, with a full test programme for 2025. But getting Szafnauer on board could be huge for Andretti’s eventual Formula 1 entry.
Szafnauer has worked in Formula 1 since 1999 after first joining the British American Racing team as their operations director. He also worked for Honda from 2005-08 as the Japanese giants’ vice president of racing developments before moving to Force India during late 2009.
He played a key role in turning Force India into one of the best midfield teams, despite their limited resources. The Silverstone-based squad were 10th and pointless in the 2008 season. Yet Force India rose to fifth place in 2015 before securing two fourth-place finishes in a row.