Axed Aston Martin F1 boss CRITICISES team

Otmar Szafnauer, Guenther Steiner, Fred Vasseur — Photo: © IMAGO

Aston Martin

Axed F1 boss CRITICISES former team

The former F1 team principal made his feelings clear

Parth Jhaveri

Friday 9 August 2024 10:57 Updated: 12:36

Former Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has raised serious questions over the F1 team's operations.

The former F1 chief joined Aston Martin (then Force India) in 2009 and was instrumental in the team's rise. Szafnauer remained with the team when they became Racing Point and under his guidance, they finished fourth in the constructors’ championship in 2020.

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In 2021, they were rebranded as Aston Martin and the Romanian-American remained at the helm of the team as he managed to sign four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel to race alongside Lance Stroll.

Poor performances in the 2021 season saw Aston Martin finish seventh in the constructors’ race, getting outperformed by midfield runners McLaren, Alpine and AlphaTauri.

Aston Martin are currently fifth with 73 points in the constrcutors' title race

Otmar Szafnauer left Aston Martin after 12 years in 2022

Aston Martin not progressing?

Szafnauer left Aston Martin in 2022 and he has now questioned why his former team are not quite bridging the gap to Red bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.

He said: "Is it really a great place to work? Are they really collaborating? Is everyone pulling in the same direction? Do they have someone in charge who understands the whole car and is making good decisions?

"The aerodynamics, the mechanics, the driveability of the car, the drivers, all that sort of stuff. Is there something wrong there or adrift?"

F1 Aston Martin Sebastian Vettel Lance Stroll Otmar Szafnauer Racing Point