Former Aston Martin Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer worked wonders in his old team. Otmar, having spent 24 years in the sport, has gone on to manage British American Racing, which became Honda; Force India, which became Racing Point, which then became Aston Martin; and now Alpine.

After all of this, the current Alpine boss has revealed why he left Aston Martin and joined the Enstone-based constructor.

The Romanian American was in charge of the team when Sergio Perez famously won the Sakhir GP in 2020. Otmar has revealed why he decided to terminate his 13-year-long stay. After the arrival of Lawrence Stroll, Otmar knew the management structure would not allow him to have the control he thought was necessary.

He left the Aston Martin team in February this year and joined French constructors, Alpine. In an interview, Otmar said, “In the last race I was told ‘you used to be able to manage the team but you can’t anymore’ and my powers were taken away from me. That’s when I decided to leave Aston Martin.” [Translated from Google]

READ MORE: Pierre Gasly’s F1 Salary Compared to $44 Million+ Giants Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton; Look Away Charles Leclerc

Otmar also explained how Alpine handed him his responsibilities and the confidence that was taken away from him at Aston Martin. He has led the team to a strong campaign so far and is currently P4 in constructors standing ahead of McLaren.

Esteban Ocon says the Alpine upgrades made the car pleasurable to drive

The Japanese GP was a testament to how strong Alpine has been this season. After a grueling battle with Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon gave his all to keep the Mercedes driver at bay. The Frenchman credited the Alpine upgrades and said it was a “pleasure to drive” the car.

Ocon told motorsport.com, “I think it was a matter of time until we could really show what the car was capable of. We were able to do that this weekend in general – we were fast in all conditions.”

He further added, “It’s been awesome. It’s been pure pleasure to drive that car in qualifying yesterday and in the race.

WATCH THIS STORY: The History Behind Esteban Ocon & Pierre Gasly’s Infamous F1 Beef

Otmar has had a strong start to life at Alpine. He might be looking to challenge the F1 ‘big 3’ from next season. Do you think Aston Martin was wrong to sack their Romanian boss?