2023-07-31 00:19:53
Dear readers,
Bruno Famin did not cut a good figure in his first big appearance
exactly a week ago, at least in the figurative sense of this column, Otmar Szafnauer slept the worst. After the ousting of Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, I thought he was the man “who should clean up the shards”, as I put it after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
That was on Monday. On Wednesday I was in the car again, around nine hours from Upper Austria to Spa in Belgium, and I don’t mind long car journeys because I’m a passionate listener to podcasts. Not always just about Formula 1 – my favorite podcast is probably the endless format “Everything said” by Zeitverlag – but sometimes also about Formula 1.
And so I sweetened a few toll-free kilometers through beautiful Bavaria this time with the latest edition of Formula 1 podcast ‘Beyond the Grid’in which Szafnauer of all people was interviewed by host Tom Clarkson before Spa.
Podcast: What Szafnauer Said
In the podcast, Szafnauer explained that even after Rossi’s departure, he was not afraid for his job as Alpine team boss. Renault CEO Luca de Meo personally assured him that: “I have no concerns that Luca will keep his word and give me the 100 races that are necessary,” said Szafnauer, and he underlined: “I know that Luca is a man of his word. And he gave me his word to wait 100 races.”
Exactly two days (!) after the release of the podcast, Otmar Szafnauer was history as Alpine team boss.
And not only he: In addition to Szafnauer, the previous sports director Alan “Bat” Permane, (also with other teams) one of the most popular figures in the Formula 1 paddock, and the CTO (Chief Technical Officer) Pat Fry are leaving the Enstone racing team.
Bruno Famin: Who is that?
The new strong man at Alpine is called Bruno Famin. Famin grew up at Peugeot and joined the FIA in 2019 before being appointed the new CEO of Renault’s Viry-Châtillon engine factory by Laurent Rossi in February 2022. The factory, by the way, about which people say that in some corners no broom has been swept for a long time.
And it is impossible for this Bruno Famin to have slept well after Spa. His weekend began with a disconcerting appearance at the team manager’s press conference on Friday, during which he tried to convince media representatives with painfully rehearsed PR phrases that Szafnauer and Permane’s split was “by mutual agreement”.
College Ian Parkes of the New York Times but (like me) was one of those who didn’t take it for a fool, noting that he found it “very difficult to believe that two people of Otmar’s and Alan’s rank would suddenly put up their hands and say, ‘Yeah, you know you what? We’re going now!'”
Especially since Szafnauer had assured a few days earlier that he wanted to be the one to implement Alpine’s 100-race plan. The Famin, it should be noted in passing, put one of his first official acts as team boss on hold. Even if not with clear words, but with that typical messing about that has become synonymous with the management culture of the French Formula 1 program in recent years.
Sympathy clearly distributed in the Formula 1 paddock
There was no paddock small talk in Spa, no media rounds and hardly a TV interview in which Alpine’s heads-rolling was not discussed. And while Szafnauer and Permane got off quite well as long-time sympathizers, hardly a good word was said about Alpine’s top management and Famin.
It may be unfair to so publicly execute a man who has just taken up his job. But Famin is at least not one who represents the modern type of sports manager. In addition to personalities such as Toto Wolff, Andreas Seidl or Mike Krack, he seems like someone who has fallen out of time. And unlike the gentlemen mentioned, he is not the type who can quickly conquer skeptical hearts with a mischievous charm.
Meanwhile, Szafnauer became the popular figure of the weekend when he was in a Interview with colleagues from ‘Sky’ couldn’t resist a dig at Alpine management: “You can’t get nine women pregnant and hope to have a baby in a month,” he grinned into the camera.
On the other hand, emblematic of Famin’s isolation in the paddock as he took to the grid ahead of the F1 sprint on Saturday, all alone, without the rest of the team he now has to lead. While Szafnauer was a busy man all weekend, Famin was playing around on his phone a few minutes before his first race start as Formula 1 team boss.
Prost: The problem is the board members themselves
Alain Prost explained the Alpine problem with the Dunning-Kruger effect and, in my opinion, got to the point. The snooty executives in Paris believe, he wrote in a recent Guest contribution for the ‘L’Équipe’that they can wuppen such a Formula 1 team and make it successful. And they don’t need (in their arrogant perception) shirt-sleeved semi-professionals, like Szafnauer was one, like Permane was one, like Prost himself was one, until he left the Alpine team’s supervisory board in January 2022.
As the boss of a Formula 1 team, Famin has reached the pinnacle of his motorsport career. At least in the most exposed position so far. Certainly sweetened with a handsome salary. Both the public and the money that Formula 1 brings can get people addicted.
Maybe Famin falls into this trap and gets stuck on his chair. Although officially only an interim team boss, he doesn’t rule out anything at this point in time, he says. Also not to remain team boss permanently.
Ferrari was most successful when a Frenchman (Jean Todt) cleaned up with the Italians. Maybe Alpine would do well now if an Italian would clean up with the French.
Does anyone actually know what Mattia Binotto is up to right now?
A notice: It is in the nature of things that this column reflects my subjective perception. If you have a different opinion, you are welcome to discuss it with me, namely on my Facebook page “Formula 1 inside with Christian Nimmervoll”. There is not primarily “breaking news” from the Grand Prix circus, but above all strictly subjective and sometimes quite biting classifications of the most important developments behind the scenes of Formula 1.
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#slept #worst #night #Bruno #Famin