Sergio Perez gave his thoughts on the sudden departure of Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer, stating it is a “shame” that such high-profile name leaves as Team Principal.
The 58-year-old joined the French team in 2022 after leaving Aston Martin, but before last weeks Belgium Grand Prix it was announced that he and Alan Permane will leave the team.
“I think I was quite surprised with it, given how short notice it was,” said Perez. “I think Otmar is great, any person in that position, you’ve got to give them time. And I think Otmar lacked time to really show his potential, which I know is huge.”
“I’ve seen what he’s done in other teams with very limited budgets and with not so limited budgets as well. So, I think that it’s a shame that they let him move on.”
“But yeah, I think on the other hand, whoever comes needs to have proper time because all these things in Formula 1 takes massive time.”
Alpine fell short of expectations in 2023, having finished 2022 strong in 4th position, they now sit 6, behind the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin, who have jumped them performance-wise.