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Pinned comment about sponsorship is my opportunity to say something so more ppl can see my comment. Cyril in hindsight was decent. Oh how we didn’t know what a clusterfuck was happening behind the scenes. Otmar learned the hard way
I’m an airline pilot. I ran into Otmar one day when checking in to my hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on an overnight. It was the Saturday of the Miami Grand Prix. When I said hello, he was super kind and generous with his time. He wanted to know my name when he sawmy uniform, he asked me who I flew for. He spent the whole time asking about me and my career, what I flew, how I liked it, what my favorite places to fly are, etc. He was genuinely interested in me and my life. Very nice guy, super genuine. I’ve respected him ever since and knew his departure from Alpine was likely an Alpine issue. How right I was.
Yeah that all nice and warm and fuzzy... But come on lets not beat around the bush when we are talking about F1. Being a nice guy is fine and all but it doesn't win world championships year in, year out!
@@nobass_stub1394True, it doesn't win World Championships, but neither does being a kn0b and making enemies either... Sounds like a lot of F1 Teams are being run more like any other large, political corporate entity these days.
@@nobass_stub1394 We'll never know. Force India did very well under Otmar, but were constrained by their finances. If there hadn't been this financial constraint, Otmar may well have led a front-running team.
It boils my blood that he even had to put his name on the oscar piastri fiasco. What a joke of a management team !! Laurent Rossi is the epitome of what a bad leader is. Blamed everything on Otmar and the team and then just suddenly disappeared into "Special Projects" under the Renault guise and takes home a big paycheck !! What a f**king prick of monumental proportions.
What a joke of a management team Renault has. Laurent Rossi went scot free and Otmar was made the scapegoat. It boils my blood that he was not responsible for all the incompetencies at Alpine and he was made accountable for it in public. If that doesn't scream being a good leader, I don't know what does.
I don't know if you know this as well, before Bruno Famin got sacked this year, he blamed the team's lack of performance on last year's management aka Otmar. Feel really bad for the people working there.
@@MuhammadNiz007 well it's all relevant, Renault has had championship winning cars in the not too distant past. But in terms of underperformance it could be a lot worse
Otmar got throw under the bus by Renault/Alpine. What a joke of a team/company. I hope Otmar gets to manage a team in F1 again. Thanks for this episode!
He did, but I think the issue for him is that he was always terrible at projecting himself outwardly (regardless of how good of a leader may have been internally). And that affects things like sponsorships, marketability, ability to recruit, etc. In that season especially, he came across as "soft" to the outside world, and the perception was that he might have lost control and trust of his own team. Now we know he didn't have much of that team working for him anyway. I think if Otmar was a different kind of person, he would have aired the dirty laundry publicly at the time and revealed more of what he is saying today. I think he didn't want to burn bridges for future opps and his personality is not the type to take the whole ship down with him anyway.
Does he? He seems like a lazy guy who didn't ask enough questions before accepting the Alpine job, and once he had it had no balls to dictate how it should be run, including not insisting on seeing the Piastri signed contract.. sorry what he speaks about speaks volumes to not being a good boss
@@lachmack8967Certainly, if that is your assessment after listening to the man speak for an hour. What you said was not the joke; rather, it was your very existence.
@@lachmack8967 well he did spend 20 years in F1 prior to alpine, and spend plenty of time being incredible efficient with Force India. I would argue Alpine didn't back the way he conducted his team.
@@punchlineking7217 How does he have a better track record? The McLaren downfall started with him, was finished by Ron, then revived by Brown. Whitmarsh hasn't done much.
@@CyclistChris During Whitmarsh stint in Mclaren he helped team win 4 WCC’s, 6 WDC’s and 112 wins. But i guess acording to you Otmar has more. Need to get my facts straight 🤔
Not just in Formula 1, outside of that a lot of managers could learn a lot from this man. Not everyone wants them same thing from work. Making a happy work space for a team of people is about listening to them and giving them what they want. The last example he gave is also underrated "Some people want to be left alone" I cannot express enough that the value of being trusted to get on with your job and not having the manager over your shoulder constantly.
Unfortunately, making the team happy isn't the manager's job, it's to make sure the team delivers the expected results. A happy team certainly is one of many strategies to achieve this, it's far from the only effective one.
F1 management behind the scenes here. Thanks for getting Otmar on, what a guy and clearly a good leader. I feel sh*t for hating on him during the Piatsri saga.
Renault put him in that situation and they knew he was going to be the fall guy from day one. Guys like Otmar don't do things like paying for everyones salaries for recognition. They do things because it's the right thing to do and it doesn't matter who does it as long as it's done. I did the same thing for my company during covid lockdowns and paid the salaries of all my employees. No one asked where the money came from, but only myself and the finance team knew at the time.
@@stanfordmazhindu9118 I don't. Szafnauer may not have been responsible for the original contract bungle (though one could argue he should have checked) but it was his decision to go on a rampage in the press against Oscar, lying and slandering Oscar's character. Even here you can tell he thinks Oscar was in the wrong.
Otmar was the good guy, the nice guy, he even gave out the secrets on how the big teams were getting around the financial caps just nonchalantly when asked by a reporter.
@@aPol.01 “It seems like more and more teams are looking at their well remunerated employees that way for cost cap reasons,” Szafnauer told the press after the race in Bahrain. “And we’ve got to make sure that there comes a time where all these ancillary businesses that are now cropping up, that without a budget cap wouldn’t be there, we’ve got to look at that and make sure that the loopholes aren’t big enough to where, effectively, we don’t have a cap. “Because I think the cap itself has helped Formula 1 as a whole, has driven valuations of the teams higher. I think the cap that we have now is still 10 times anything any other racing formula spends on going motor racing, and to me, that’s enough. “And we have to really be careful that we don’t have these types of loopholes appearing that we can’t shut down. And then effectively we don’t have a budget cap because I think we’re all better off having it. “When you look at corporate structures, that is massive, that can be, you can only have 68, 70 people in the racing team and the rest of the 900 are outside of it and are portioning costs. That’s the kind of stuff we have to worry about.”
Probably the most insight into the inner workings of F1 I've ever garnered from an interview. And a lot of wisdom from his experiences sprinkled within.
Really great to hear Otmar's side of the story. I have always thought of him as an open and honest and just all round great person, and this interview has just confirmed that. Such a great and humble individual. More bosses need to be like him. Wishing him all of the best for the future.
There is more than one reason why Otmar wouldn't want to tell his team members that he co-financed their paychecks on two occasions. Part is modesty. Another is the implication that if the boss pays your paycheck, you personally owe HIM for your livelihood, and that's not good for team spirit. Another reason is that if the boss has to pay your paycheck out of his own pocket, then the team's financials must be in serious trouble, which Force India was indeed for a time.
@@avwie132 I listened to his explanations that most of the problems wasn't under his control. I just think that's not the perfect boss when it comes to take and keep control. "did you even listen"... Well I did, we just interpret it differently. Let's calmly agree to disagree.
@@avwie132 I listened to his explanations that most of the problems wasn't under his control. I just think that's not the perfect boss when it comes to take and keep control. "did you even listen"... Well I did, we just interpret it differently. Let's calmly agree to disagree.
seems to me that the frenchists were against Otmar from the start. the team is still a shambles. You always carried yourself with the utmost self respect and you equally gave respect to those who were deserving (even those who weren't deserving). You are a gentleman through and through. Thank you for being you!
@@coastalcraftsmen9155 no surprise there they want to keep playing in the sand box.... it wouldn't help future production rights if key players with leverage in the game get pissed off at ya....
Couldn't agree more with your conclusion. As a corporate people leader, I've recently decided I'm no longer interested in trying to climb corporate ladders anymore - it's a terrible objective for anyone who wants to keep their dignity and integrity. Not because you have to take tough decisions, fire people etc. but because of the corporate corruption.
I love the way you guys do interviews. You don't try to fill in every blank space from the subject and let them have silence to think a bit before answering or continuing with their thought.
Otmar is a quality operator. Thanks for your podcast to give him the opportunity to vent his spleen, cleanse his palate and hopefully clear his mind. He deserves a job back in F1 and HAAS need him quickly.
@@sloppynyuszi I think Andretti have their own ideas on how they will operate. They likely don't need Otmar in the mix. But HAAS on the other hand could do with a big helping hand and Otmar has got a great set of skills to help get them pushing in the right way. Could not be more different to how Gunther operates.
@@Paul-Genge they doing a lot better this year than last year. I don’t think they need more people higher up. They need some more people to help for sure so they won’t be as Ferrari reliant.
@@sloppynyuszi also true. You are right. But you do you think they can catch big sponsors with their present management arrangements? Seems doubtful. Great chap, but an engineer, not a front man.
@@Paul-Genge Getting a marketing guy in is not a bad idea, but Komatsu is doing a good job and Haas are doing better than they have since the Rich Energy saga. They also have a few sponsors. Otmar is not famous for bringing in big money though. BWT is the biggest sponsor he is related with but Force India always struggled for money. I think Otmar is an asset to any team, but I don’t think he would do much better than Komatsu or bring much money to the team. Would love to see him back in F1, but don’t think at the expense of Komatsu is it. I think he might be good at Audi if Mattia would let him do his job.
Surprised no one else seems to have picked up on how Machiavellian Famin was in DTS engineering Otmar’s firing. Nasty man he was and absolutely disastrous team principal. Otmar deserved better and I hope he can return to the sport.
Ironically, many of Prosts criticisms towards Rossi/the direction alpine was taking relate to the points Otmar talked about. Like management structure, poor communication between different groups, one person undermining the work of another person. That kind of management perfectly explains the spectacular screw up in losing piastri over an unsigned contract.
I can lituarly listen to Otmar Szafnauer for days, such a calming voice and relaxing to listen to He should do a podcast and do this regularily and teach people. great man!
I love this deep dive into Formula 1 in a interview format that is not possible in mainstream media. That's why TH-cam is killing it on viewer retention and screen time.
Absolutely captivating listening to Otmar! I recall Peter Windsor saying how foolish they were to let him go and I can see why. A very honest and genuine gentleman. Force India…. What a force they were. Punching well above their weight and proof that money doesn’t guarantee success. I hope he returns to the paddock soon 🤙
Otmar is truly a great guy who deserves nothing but the best! His kindness and genuine spirit shine through. Wishing him all the success in building a new team from the ground up and reaching his dreams one day!
Otmar is critically underrated team principal. He was always brilliant as long as no one was meddling in his business. Things only started to go wrong then, first with Lawrence Stroll and then with that clown from Alpine
@@theam2991 Yep, your final observation is pretty much what I was implying. Renault appears to be taking the whole "F1 circus" concept a little too literally.
He's right about different ways of working. If they'd have said "The car needs improvements" or "There are inter-team issues" or "Communication issues" then that's at least something. It sounds like Alpine basically pointed at the car and said "Why no winning?" To get the right answers, you need the right questions. That's probably the big point he's making, or at least the point I'm getting from it. I'd certainly enjoy if just being nice to people got the to fork over a couple mil no questions asked!😂
5:18: Why are people surprised? People need to understand that doing business with the French 🇫🇷 turns out 9 out of 10 in this exact way. Playing childish games, finger pointing, politics etc. is totally normal but leaves a mess in most of the cases and makes for outsiders no sense. Mark my words 😁.
This man is a brilliant businessman. You need more people like that in the business world, not just a good businessman but a good person. Workforce would be much better having these people as bosses. Respect, do Mr Otmar.
I had the great fortune of meeting Otmar a couple of years ago when I produced an interview with some NetApp executives. He was a very gracious and friendly person and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. He’s the kind of guy you want to route for and see achieve great success. I was a fan before, and and even bigger fan after working and chatting with him, even if it was for a brief moment in time.
I want to work for this guy. Spoke like a true leader. His wisdom on the importance of team success. You can tell he is the type to know every single employee by first and last name and know who they are off work. Respect 🙌🏽
A lot of people crapped on this man during his Alpine tenure without understanding what happens behind the curtain. Glad to see him being candid about the shark infested world of F1
His story changes everytime he's interviewed. Bottom line is, you walk in the door you check the contracts and if not signed you get them signed. It's practically your only job as team manager.
@@QuitDueToLag Otmar was fired before Belgium 2023. Piastri has been at McLaren for over a year. What did he talk about that just happened that was soo important??
I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I am 80 yr old and retired 18 yr after a career in the automotive supply chain in NA supplying Ford, GM and uniquely all three of the Japanese transplants. I ran a 500000 sq ft manufacturing facility with 420 unionized employees with a staff of 72 running 24/7/50. I didn’t label my management style as providing psychological security at the time but I knew we won as a team and if we failed I was responsible. I learned early that the careerists would always want to be fathers of our success and never claim fatherhood in failures. Nobody has all the answers and organizations will never succeed if there is no freedom to fail. As Otmar says you learn from failures but they are the foundation of learning how to succeed. He had management style down pat,
There’s a lot of wisdom in this hour. Szafnauer conveyed his views on culture, priorities very well, and very tactfully. His quality as a human being must have terrified Stroll especially when Stroll couldn’t corrupt him. I learned a lot about F1. The interviewers are excellent.
What an amazing interview. It really gives you an insight into what has made Alpine, former Renault, kind of engines, fall. It also gives you a wonderful insight into a less typical management style in the paddock. We all have the impression that every team lead has to be ballsy and driven by his ego. But in reality it is an organization indeed. Like any other. As such it is vulnerable to toxic traits that can bring down any other organization. Again, chapeau for a flawless interview that asked the right questions through and through.
What a great human being. A privilege to watch such a quality podcast show. Greetings from Romania! I know Mr. Otmar has some strong romanian roots too.
Pretty smart operator Mr Webber, but it sounds like Alpine/Renault are a pathetically dysfunctional pack of corporate ladder climbers that he probably only spent 5 minutes thinking about his strategy.
nonsense... he should have insisted to get reports from other departments his winning philosophy "worry only about what you have control over" ignores that he could have done more to insist he did have control over key areas. So well done him, he failed as a team principle.
Otmar owes Oscar an apology. His handling of that situation alone is why he was criticized, especially given he knew the games Alpine were playing. They even screwed him, which we all knew, yet he still blames Oscar to this day.
@@seashackf1 Sounds like you didn't watch the video, where he talked about Alpine making that contract mistake months before Otmar was hired, and putting his name on the press releases, and Otmar's opinion on Oscar's behavior.
@@ApexwithDavin I’m not talking about the contract mistake, that all Alpines fault. I’m talking about what he’s personally said about Oscar at that time and is still doing it today. ‘22 Belgian GP official press conference Otmar said: “My wish for Oscar is that he had a bit more integrity”. 10:56 of this video “unjust enrichments….” ….. his words and opinion today, not Alpines back then. This has been his well documented personal opinion throughout. Outside of Otmar and Alpine no one is blaming Oscar for not sticking to the unsigned contract and taking a race seat instead of staying as a reserve driver at a team Otmar very well knew was in chaos.
@@seashackf1 Why would anyone outside the affected parties complain? It doesn't affect them. That would be like Penske having an opinion over Alex Palou's legal battles with Mclaren and Ganassi. Not thier business.
Otmar has been one of my favorite people in F1 for the last 25+ years that I've been an avid F1 fan and viewer. He's always courteous and straightforward when interviewed by the media and always seems happy to talk to anyone wanting to ask questions. I had no doubt that he was screwed over at Alpine and none of the details from this interview do anything but validate how screwed up the Alpine organization was then and still is now especially after deciding to stop making their own engines from 2026. I do hope Otmar finds a place back into F1, I always enjoy hearing his thoughts and as far as I'm concerned he was always a great team leader.
Given the situation he describes almost makes it worse how he handled the Piastri situation. He blamed Piastri and attached his character, knowing full well all the games Alpine/Renault were playing. He even tried blaming Alonso for not being straight forward knowing full well the games Rossi and company were playing with him. Otmar was definitely screwed by Alpine, which is still is a hot mess, but his reaction is all on him. He has to take responsibility for it. However he tries to spin it, Otmar is no fool. You don’t climb as high as him and last as long as he has without being every bit as much a predictor as the piranha’s.
I always kind of thought Otmar was in over his head and kind of not cutthroat enough for the job but it's hard to argue with how incompetent Alpine has been since he left and to a lesser extent Aston Martin (though they had a solid start to 2023).
Shilling BetterHelp on a podcast dedicated to optimising and understanding mental well-being and performance is just lazy. I'm thoroughly disappointed in this.
@10:25 is Otmar for real? Still blaming Oscar for not signing the contract but he'd failed to acknowledge he didn't plan to provide Oscar a race seat in 2023. Ocon locked in and Alpine trying to retain Alonso, and this guy expect Oscar to stay loyal to Alpine by staying as a reserve driver indefinitely. 😂
Maybe I misunderstood it, but I thought he said he wanted to sign Piastri and get him a contract, though the miscommunication and lack of reporting to Otmar made others hesitant about signing (and forgot, along with the mistakes in signing off)
@@metalpiston1212that proves the point then. He knew the games being played behind the scenes at Alpine yet still blames Oscar publicly. He should now be saying Oscar did the right thing given how Alpine, Rossi, etc handling everything.
This was such a great interview. You knew he was torn in his Alpine role, so interesting to see his perspective on the culture of not only Alpines but others as well.
Piastri signed with McLaren because there would be no seat for him the next year with Alpine. Then Alonso suddenly moved to Aston Martin. The Alpine seat opened. But it was too late. Piastri was gone. You can't blame Oscar for wanting a drive and switching. This needs to be brought out.
He's a good bugger. Good to listen to. Alpine are missing him now He does spend a lot of detail explaining how badly they screwed up with Piastri but then says Zak Brown should be embarrassed? Cant square that circle, Piastri took a chance to get out that Otmar ultimately also would have been glad to do if he wasnt fired. He cant blame others for the shambles.
@@joebarthram596 True, that could be the case. He does seem happy to reveal all the dirty washing elsewhere though? Maybe partly its personal - as he says, its a Piranha club and all those Team Principals and Execs are very competitive. The funny thing is, given Alpine beat McLaren in 2022, Otmar is on camera laughing and saying 'good luck to Oscar!' when it looked like Piastri had left for a poorer team.
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Pinned comment about sponsorship is my opportunity to say something so more ppl can see my comment.
Cyril in hindsight was decent. Oh how we didn’t know what a clusterfuck was happening behind the scenes. Otmar learned the hard way
just so yuo know, BetterHelp is a scam.
Always sad to see a Betterhelp sponsorship. I hoped they were done after all the controversy. You can do better, guys.
Huel as in Huell Babineax.
I’m an airline pilot. I ran into Otmar one day when checking in to my hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on an overnight. It was the Saturday of the Miami Grand Prix. When I said hello, he was super kind and generous with his time. He wanted to know my name when he sawmy uniform, he asked me who I flew for. He spent the whole time asking about me and my career, what I flew, how I liked it, what my favorite places to fly are, etc. He was genuinely interested in me and my life. Very nice guy, super genuine. I’ve respected him ever since and knew his departure from Alpine was likely an Alpine issue. How right I was.
Well said!
Yeah that all nice and warm and fuzzy... But come on lets not beat around the bush when we are talking about F1. Being a nice guy is fine and all but it doesn't win world championships year in, year out!
@@nobass_stub1394how cynical
@@nobass_stub1394True, it doesn't win World Championships, but neither does being a kn0b and making enemies either... Sounds like a lot of F1 Teams are being run more like any other large, political corporate entity these days.
@@nobass_stub1394 We'll never know. Force India did very well under Otmar, but were constrained by their finances. If there hadn't been this financial constraint, Otmar may well have led a front-running team.
So glad to hear Otmar's side of the story after seeing how much of a mess Alpine has been over the last few years!
I just got into 14 minutes of watching this video, and I get a glimpse of why Alpine is such a mess now.
It boils my blood that he even had to put his name on the oscar piastri fiasco. What a joke of a management team !! Laurent Rossi is the epitome of what a bad leader is. Blamed everything on Otmar and the team and then just suddenly disappeared into "Special Projects" under the Renault guise and takes home a big paycheck !! What a f**king prick of monumental proportions.
What a joke of a management team Renault has. Laurent Rossi went scot free and Otmar was made the scapegoat. It boils my blood that he was not responsible for all the incompetencies at Alpine and he was made accountable for it in public. If that doesn't scream being a good leader, I don't know what does.
I don't know if you know this as well, before Bruno Famin got sacked this year, he blamed the team's lack of performance on last year's management aka Otmar. Feel really bad for the people working there.
It feels like he was never given a chance to do his job. This must be so disheartening.
Alpine underperforming during Otmar's tenure now makes so much sense with this discussion!
Given what we know now, I'd say he probably got more out of that team than they deserved.
@@chimchim2_ Very true
They didn't underperform at all they got 3 podiums in 23
@@MuhammadNiz007 well it's all relevant, Renault has had championship winning cars in the not too distant past. But in terms of underperformance it could be a lot worse
He got in that team after they made the 22 car
Otmar got throw under the bus by Renault/Alpine. What a joke of a team/company. I hope Otmar gets to manage a team in F1 again.
Thanks for this episode!
because French🤣
He did, but I think the issue for him is that he was always terrible at projecting himself outwardly (regardless of how good of a leader may have been internally). And that affects things like sponsorships, marketability, ability to recruit, etc. In that season especially, he came across as "soft" to the outside world, and the perception was that he might have lost control and trust of his own team. Now we know he didn't have much of that team working for him anyway. I think if Otmar was a different kind of person, he would have aired the dirty laundry publicly at the time and revealed more of what he is saying today. I think he didn't want to burn bridges for future opps and his personality is not the type to take the whole ship down with him anyway.
Luckily they're paying the price.
@@fsdafas749 unfortunately the real people paying the price are those working there living paycheck to paycheck
to be fair though, Otmar was also a joke at Tracing Point
Otmar always comes across as the sort of person you want to work for.
Does he? He seems like a lazy guy who didn't ask enough questions before accepting the Alpine job, and once he had it had no balls to dictate how it should be run, including not insisting on seeing the Piastri signed contract.. sorry what he speaks about speaks volumes to not being a good boss
@@lachmack8967lmfao
@@LuisVasquez-nu4hu what is funny about my opinion?
@@lachmack8967Certainly, if that is your assessment after listening to the man speak for an hour. What you said was not the joke; rather, it was your very existence.
@@lachmack8967 well he did spend 20 years in F1 prior to alpine, and spend plenty of time being incredible efficient with Force India. I would argue Alpine didn't back the way he conducted his team.
Pure Gold. This series now tops FFS. Otmar is certainly one of the most capable. Strange Stroll didn't recognise this.
Good point on Stroll. Whitmarsh has a better track record, maybe that’s why.
@@punchlineking7217 How does he have a better track record? The McLaren downfall started with him, was finished by Ron, then revived by Brown. Whitmarsh hasn't done much.
From listening to this I would say he wanted too much control.
Doesn't sound like a yes man.
Probably a poor fit with Stroll.
@@CyclistChris During Whitmarsh stint in Mclaren he helped team win 4 WCC’s, 6 WDC’s and 112 wins. But i guess acording to you Otmar has more. Need to get my facts straight 🤔
@@punchlineking7217Martin witmarsh 😂😂😂😂 lol get real mate. Witmarsh is leaving and being replaced by Andy cowell so stroll obviously wised up 💩
Not just in Formula 1, outside of that a lot of managers could learn a lot from this man.
Not everyone wants them same thing from work. Making a happy work space for a team of people is about listening to them and giving them what they want. The last example he gave is also underrated "Some people want to be left alone"
I cannot express enough that the value of being trusted to get on with your job and not having the manager over your shoulder constantly.
YES YES YES
Unfortunately, making the team happy isn't the manager's job, it's to make sure the team delivers the expected results. A happy team certainly is one of many strategies to achieve this, it's far from the only effective one.
Listen to your subject experts.
@@mrgalaxy396 okay to accomplish a short term goal maybe, but high performers aren't sticking around a poor work environment
@@corym3985 And guess what happens most: in order to make career steps, managers start focusing on short term results.
F1 management behind the scenes here. Thanks for getting Otmar on, what a guy and clearly a good leader. I feel sh*t for hating on him during the Piatsri saga.
Do tell more please. Otmar always seemed to be the nice guy and this interview does nothing to change that perception. Fascinating interview.
🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄🐄💩💩💩💩💩
Renault put him in that situation and they knew he was going to be the fall guy from day one. Guys like Otmar don't do things like paying for everyones salaries for recognition. They do things because it's the right thing to do and it doesn't matter who does it as long as it's done. I did the same thing for my company during covid lockdowns and paid the salaries of all my employees. No one asked where the money came from, but only myself and the finance team knew at the time.
It was never Otmar’s fault, that was obvious at the time bro.
@@stanfordmazhindu9118 I don't. Szafnauer may not have been responsible for the original contract bungle (though one could argue he should have checked) but it was his decision to go on a rampage in the press against Oscar, lying and slandering Oscar's character. Even here you can tell he thinks Oscar was in the wrong.
Otmar was the good guy, the nice guy, he even gave out the secrets on how the big teams were getting around the financial caps just nonchalantly when asked by a reporter.
Could you repeat what he said as i.cant find this
@@aPol.01 “It seems like more and more teams are looking at their well remunerated employees that way for cost cap reasons,” Szafnauer told the press after the race in Bahrain.
“And we’ve got to make sure that there comes a time where all these ancillary businesses that are now cropping up, that without a budget cap wouldn’t be there, we’ve got to look at that and make sure that the loopholes aren’t big enough to where, effectively, we don’t have a cap.
“Because I think the cap itself has helped Formula 1 as a whole, has driven valuations of the teams higher. I think the cap that we have now is still 10 times anything any other racing formula spends on going motor racing, and to me, that’s enough.
“And we have to really be careful that we don’t have these types of loopholes appearing that we can’t shut down. And then effectively we don’t have a budget cap because I think we’re all better off having it.
“When you look at corporate structures, that is massive, that can be, you can only have 68, 70 people in the racing team and the rest of the 900 are outside of it and are portioning costs. That’s the kind of stuff we have to worry about.”
@@aPol.01 He has repeated similar statements many times, even when being interviewed on the fly on the grid during a walkabout on a race weekend.
The piranha, dolphin, shark analogy is like a skit straight out of the Office 😆
_Cringe moment_
Otmar and his analogies are the absolute funniest. Have you heard the one about the 9 babies?
Hope he comes back in the sport!
Le Mans might beckon?
I believe he will return to F1....
Would be great if he has a place at Cadillac F1 if they ever join the grid.
Probably the most insight into the inner workings of F1 I've ever garnered from an interview. And a lot of wisdom from his experiences sprinkled within.
Really great to hear Otmar's side of the story. I have always thought of him as an open and honest and just all round great person, and this interview has just confirmed that. Such a great and humble individual. More bosses need to be like him. Wishing him all of the best for the future.
There is more than one reason why Otmar wouldn't want to tell his team members that he co-financed their paychecks on two occasions. Part is modesty. Another is the implication that if the boss pays your paycheck, you personally owe HIM for your livelihood, and that's not good for team spirit. Another reason is that if the boss has to pay your paycheck out of his own pocket, then the team's financials must be in serious trouble, which Force India was indeed for a time.
that's how you recognise a good boss.
Not afraid to put money on trust.
1.Trust
2.Respect
3.Empathy
Yeah didn't Checo also help with the finances?
@@ThmsDouglas Not sure but Perez is quite well off so I wouldn't be too surprised if he helped to make sure his team could continue to compete
first minute and Otmar already says "..and look where they are now". This is spicy
...and look where Piastri is now... 😊
He might be a great guy as many here says, but he didn't take control of the Piastri Peril as he should have.
@@bennylloyd-willner9667he couldn’t… did you even listen?
@@avwie132 I listened to his explanations that most of the problems wasn't under his control. I just think that's not the perfect boss when it comes to take and keep control.
"did you even listen"... Well I did, we just interpret it differently. Let's calmly agree to disagree.
@@avwie132 I listened to his explanations that most of the problems wasn't under his control. I just think that's not the perfect boss when it comes to take and keep control.
"did you even listen"... Well I did, we just interpret it differently. Let's calmly agree to disagree.
Don't know how it got duplicated, some YT glitch I guess. I won't delete one, they might both disappear in a glitch😁.
seems to me that the frenchists were against Otmar from the start. the team is still a shambles. You always carried yourself with the utmost self respect and you equally gave respect to those who were deserving (even those who weren't deserving). You are a gentleman through and through. Thank you for being you!
A lot of organizations would do well to listen to Otmar's wisdom. Great interview.
Candid, genuine and entirely professional. Not a good corporate warrior
Netflix did him dirty too!
@@coastalcraftsmen9155 no surprise there they want to keep playing in the sand box.... it wouldn't help future production rights if key players with leverage in the game get pissed off at ya....
Couldn't agree more with your conclusion. As a corporate people leader, I've recently decided I'm no longer interested in trying to climb corporate ladders anymore - it's a terrible objective for anyone who wants to keep their dignity and integrity. Not because you have to take tough decisions, fire people etc. but because of the corporate corruption.
A new level of respect and value for Otmar after watching this chat. Many thanks to High Performance for making this possible
I hope Sir Otmar writes a book, either on leadership or his experiences/biography... because his story is rich in golden information
I love the way you guys do interviews. You don't try to fill in every blank space from the subject and let them have silence to think a bit before answering or continuing with their thought.
Mr.Otmar is an gem of a person. Alpine grossly took advantage of his kindness.
Otmar is a quality operator. Thanks for your podcast to give him the opportunity to vent his spleen, cleanse his palate and hopefully clear his mind. He deserves a job back in F1 and HAAS need him quickly.
I think Kamitsu is doing a good job so far. I think Andretti if they still want to come back could do a lot worse than get him to lead their entry
@@sloppynyuszi I think Andretti have their own ideas on how they will operate. They likely don't need Otmar in the mix. But HAAS on the other hand could do with a big helping hand and Otmar has got a great set of skills to help get them pushing in the right way. Could not be more different to how Gunther operates.
@@Paul-Genge they doing a lot better this year than last year. I don’t think they need more people higher up. They need some more people to help for sure so they won’t be as Ferrari reliant.
@@sloppynyuszi also true. You are right. But you do you think they can catch big sponsors with their present management arrangements? Seems doubtful. Great chap, but an engineer, not a front man.
@@Paul-Genge Getting a marketing guy in is not a bad idea, but Komatsu is doing a good job and Haas are doing better than they have since the Rich Energy saga. They also have a few sponsors. Otmar is not famous for bringing in big money though. BWT is the biggest sponsor he is related with but Force India always struggled for money.
I think Otmar is an asset to any team, but I don’t think he would do much better than Komatsu or bring much money to the team. Would love to see him back in F1, but don’t think at the expense of Komatsu is it. I think he might be good at Audi if Mattia would let him do his job.
Surprised no one else seems to have picked up on how Machiavellian Famin was in DTS engineering Otmar’s firing. Nasty man he was and absolutely disastrous team principal. Otmar deserved better and I hope he can return to the sport.
My thoughts exactly. A terrible man Famin is and he totally deserved the boot from behind, unfortunately not before destroying the team.
is that the guy Alain Prost descibed as incompetent, and only capable of yelling and screaming?
@@MrAagaard no I think that that is Rossi. But Rossi is the man who’s ear Famin was in trying to get Otmar fired.
@@MrAagaardno that was rosso Famin is the guy who forced Pat, Otmar and Rossi out
Ironically, many of Prosts criticisms towards Rossi/the direction alpine was taking relate to the points Otmar talked about. Like management structure, poor communication between different groups, one person undermining the work of another person. That kind of management perfectly explains the spectacular screw up in losing piastri over an unsigned contract.
Worked @ BAR with Otmar... Fine fella..
Otmar is a good guy and a great team manager. He deserves better.
Hope to see you back in the paddock in the future Mr. Szafnauer.
Otmar is a natural leader and many companies could learn a lot from him. Great interview.
I can lituarly listen to Otmar Szafnauer for days, such a calming voice and relaxing to listen to
He should do a podcast and do this regularily and teach people. great man!
Loved this. You can see why he was so successful with racing point/force India
I love this deep dive into Formula 1 in a interview format that is not possible in mainstream media. That's why TH-cam is killing it on viewer retention and screen time.
What an eye opening chat this was. Deep insights and cues to become a better leader.
Best interview… I now have so much respect for Otmar… such a good human being
Absolutely captivating listening to Otmar!
I recall Peter Windsor saying how foolish they were to let him go and I can see why. A very honest and genuine gentleman.
Force India…. What a force they were. Punching well above their weight and proof that money doesn’t guarantee success.
I hope he returns to the paddock soon 🤙
Otmar is truly a great guy who deserves nothing but the best! His kindness and genuine spirit shine through. Wishing him all the success in building a new team from the ground up and reaching his dreams one day!
Tremendous interview.
Otmar gave us deep insight into his own high performance career, and you gents asked him excellent questions to draw that out.
Otmar is critically underrated team principal. He was always brilliant as long as no one was meddling in his business. Things only started to go wrong then, first with Lawrence Stroll and then with that clown from Alpine
"...that clown from Alpine". You might need to be a bit more specific....
@@paulmckinstry6374 I meant Laurent Rossi, but that actually applies to all of Alpine executives since Abiteboul left
@@theam2991 Yep, your final observation is pretty much what I was implying. Renault appears to be taking the whole "F1 circus" concept a little too literally.
He's right about different ways of working. If they'd have said "The car needs improvements" or "There are inter-team issues" or "Communication issues" then that's at least something. It sounds like Alpine basically pointed at the car and said "Why no winning?"
To get the right answers, you need the right questions. That's probably the big point he's making, or at least the point I'm getting from it. I'd certainly enjoy if just being nice to people got the to fork over a couple mil no questions asked!😂
That man is an absolute motivator. Legend
5:18 What went wrong in Team Alpine?
6:12 His explanation about the Oscar Piastri saga
23:27 Force India
Thank you for this. Wish they'd provide this themselves
@@chimchim2_ they’ve updated the chapters
@@rhonita nice! Thx
5:18: Why are people surprised? People need to understand that doing business with the French 🇫🇷 turns out 9 out of 10 in this exact way. Playing childish games, finger pointing, politics etc. is totally normal but leaves a mess in most of the cases and makes for outsiders no sense. Mark my words 😁.
This man is a brilliant businessman. You need more people like that in the business world, not just a good businessman but a good person. Workforce would be much better having these people as bosses. Respect, do Mr Otmar.
such and honest view, man i hope he goes back into the paddock, my perspective has changed, my employer needs to listen to this
High Performance is quickly becoming the F1 tell all platform. Love how this channel is developing.
I had the great fortune of meeting Otmar a couple of years ago when I produced an interview with some NetApp executives. He was a very gracious and friendly person and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. He’s the kind of guy you want to route for and see achieve great success. I was a fan before, and and even bigger fan after working and chatting with him, even if it was for a brief moment in time.
THank you for the interview, I watched the whole thing
Otmar has just become one of my favorite people in F1 ever after seeing this interview. I have respect for this man for so many reasons now
"Ownership is perfect." Agreed 👍
We needed Otmar's story. High Performance delivered it. One of the best podcast channels.
What a leader Otmar would be to work for.
He woupd be an asset to any organisatio (Non F1 related companies as well).
Amazing.....
Man this man is a gem. He’s rare this interview I feel like we can all learn from
Great to hear from Otmar, great video guys
I want to work for this guy. Spoke like a true leader. His wisdom on the importance of team success. You can tell he is the type to know every single employee by first and last name and know who they are off work. Respect 🙌🏽
A lot of people crapped on this man during his Alpine tenure without understanding what happens behind the curtain. Glad to see him being candid about the shark infested world of F1
So great to hear from him! More respect to Otmar.
Loved this one. Huge respect to Otmar.
His story changes everytime he's interviewed. Bottom line is, you walk in the door you check the contracts and if not signed you get them signed. It's practically your only job as team manager.
Yeah bro, seen this a million times in corporate. Makes complete sense when you take away the rational side.
This interview is much larger in its visionary perspective in life than just in Formula 1
Excellent episode.. Otmar is one of the my fave team boss.
This interview opens my eyes.
What a nice guy..
I hope Netflix picks this up.
Picks what up?
@@BwInNewJerseythe interview
@@Pizzonia295 it was last year. Last season
@@BwInNewJersey This interview? No it wasn't, it references things that have just happened.
@@QuitDueToLag Otmar was fired before Belgium 2023. Piastri has been at McLaren for over a year. What did he talk about that just happened that was soo important??
I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. I am 80 yr old and retired 18 yr after a career in the automotive supply chain in NA supplying Ford, GM and uniquely all three of the Japanese transplants. I ran a 500000 sq ft manufacturing facility with 420 unionized employees with a staff of 72 running 24/7/50. I didn’t label my management style as providing psychological security at the time but I knew we won as a team and if we failed I was responsible. I learned early that the careerists would always want to be fathers of our success and never claim fatherhood in failures. Nobody has all the answers and organizations will never succeed if there is no freedom to fail. As Otmar says you learn from failures but they are the foundation of learning how to succeed. He had management style down pat,
Very good interview respect! Otmar. Your advise is great
what a fantastic interview... i usually get bored halfway through hour long stuff like this but i watched every minute
Oooh I've been waiting to hear his story
Respect. He really love his job. To willing paid his staff first is an enormous gesture.
Otmar is too much of a nice guy for F1.
There’s a lot of wisdom in this hour. Szafnauer conveyed his views on culture, priorities very well, and very tactfully. His quality as a human being must have terrified Stroll especially when Stroll couldn’t corrupt him. I learned a lot about F1. The interviewers are excellent.
Mucho respect for otmar
EXCELLENT conversation!!!!! thank you very much!!
I remember when he said Alpine would smash Aston Martin when Alonso switched to them. Then 2023 happened and the rest is history lol
Always a calm with a genuinely honest demeanor.
Been waiting for this!
What an amazing interview. It really gives you an insight into what has made Alpine, former Renault, kind of engines, fall. It also gives you a wonderful insight into a less typical management style in the paddock. We all have the impression that every team lead has to be ballsy and driven by his ego. But in reality it is an organization indeed. Like any other. As such it is vulnerable to toxic traits that can bring down any other organization. Again, chapeau for a flawless interview that asked the right questions through and through.
This interview is going beyond F1. Lessons on and off the corporate system.
What a great human being. A privilege to watch such a quality podcast show. Greetings from Romania! I know Mr. Otmar has some strong romanian roots too.
Mark Webber outsmarted Alpine, used them then took Piastri to McLaren.
Oscar dodged a bullet there. He would be lucky to have 2 points if he stayed at Alpine and not two wins!
Pretty smart operator Mr Webber, but it sounds like Alpine/Renault are a pathetically dysfunctional pack of corporate ladder climbers that he probably only spent 5 minutes thinking about his strategy.
The best interviewers are back with another F1 episode. Instant watch. Thank you for posting these interviews.
Otmar, Guenther, and Binotto need to run a team together and Netflix will pay for it to happen
Guenther should stay out of F1 he was never a great team guy
@@MuhammadNiz007 He'd be better closer to the engineering dept like he was in M-sport
I’d pay anything to read a book on leadership by Otmar. His insights on how to inspire others to succeed shared in this discussion are powerful.
Huel is highly processed and contains seed oils. Not the worst food, perhaps, but definitely not what brings out high performance.
Great to hear you Otmar, you are so damm right about the organisation’s culture… hats off boy..👏👏
We all owe Otmar an apology.
nonsense... he should have insisted to get reports from other departments his winning philosophy "worry only about what you have control over" ignores that he could have done more to insist he did have control over key areas. So well done him, he failed as a team principle.
Otmar owes Oscar an apology. His handling of that situation alone is why he was criticized, especially given he knew the games Alpine were playing. They even screwed him, which we all knew, yet he still blames Oscar to this day.
@@seashackf1 Sounds like you didn't watch the video, where he talked about Alpine making that contract mistake months before Otmar was hired, and putting his name on the press releases, and Otmar's opinion on Oscar's behavior.
@@ApexwithDavin I’m not talking about the contract mistake, that all Alpines fault. I’m talking about what he’s personally said about Oscar at that time and is still doing it today.
‘22 Belgian GP official press conference Otmar said: “My wish for Oscar is that he had a bit more integrity”. 10:56 of this video “unjust enrichments….” ….. his words and opinion today, not Alpines back then. This has been his well documented personal opinion throughout.
Outside of Otmar and Alpine no one is blaming Oscar for not sticking to the unsigned contract and taking a race seat instead of staying as a reserve driver at a team Otmar very well knew was in chaos.
@@seashackf1 Why would anyone outside the affected parties complain? It doesn't affect them.
That would be like Penske having an opinion over Alex Palou's legal battles with Mclaren and Ganassi.
Not thier business.
Otmar has been one of my favorite people in F1 for the last 25+ years that I've been an avid F1 fan and viewer. He's always courteous and straightforward when interviewed by the media and always seems happy to talk to anyone wanting to ask questions. I had no doubt that he was screwed over at Alpine and none of the details from this interview do anything but validate how screwed up the Alpine organization was then and still is now especially after deciding to stop making their own engines from 2026. I do hope Otmar finds a place back into F1, I always enjoy hearing his thoughts and as far as I'm concerned he was always a great team leader.
Minute 14:39 made me trust this man.
I have to say otmar has earned my respect, he is very very competent
Given the situation he describes almost makes it worse how he handled the Piastri situation. He blamed Piastri and attached his character, knowing full well all the games Alpine/Renault were playing. He even tried blaming Alonso for not being straight forward knowing full well the games Rossi and company were playing with him. Otmar was definitely screwed by Alpine, which is still is a hot mess, but his reaction is all on him. He has to take responsibility for it.
However he tries to spin it, Otmar is no fool. You don’t climb as high as him and last as long as he has without being every bit as much a predictor as the piranha’s.
This is an absolutely invaluable masterclass. Thank you, Otmar. Wish you the best.
I always kind of thought Otmar was in over his head and kind of not cutthroat enough for the job but it's hard to argue with how incompetent Alpine has been since he left and to a lesser extent Aston Martin (though they had a solid start to 2023).
To his point "not everyone needs to be the shark"
Absolutely one of the best interviews you can watch, a great insight into F1
Shilling BetterHelp on a podcast dedicated to optimising and understanding mental well-being and performance is just lazy. I'm thoroughly disappointed in this.
It's absolutely garbage shilling.
Great episode. As someone who has done research on psychological safety in sport, it is refreshing to hear someone finally speak about it correctly!
@10:25 is Otmar for real? Still blaming Oscar for not signing the contract but he'd failed to acknowledge he didn't plan to provide Oscar a race seat in 2023. Ocon locked in and Alpine trying to retain Alonso, and this guy expect Oscar to stay loyal to Alpine by staying as a reserve driver indefinitely. 😂
Correctamundo! I made a similar comment higher up!
Maybe I misunderstood it, but I thought he said he wanted to sign Piastri and get him a contract, though the miscommunication and lack of reporting to Otmar made others hesitant about signing (and forgot, along with the mistakes in signing off)
he said multiple times he didnt have full control in Alpine, which most likely includes the hiring of the drivers.
@@metalpiston1212that proves the point then. He knew the games being played behind the scenes at Alpine yet still blames Oscar publicly. He should now be saying Oscar did the right thing given how Alpine, Rossi, etc handling everything.
I feel like I need to pay him for this podcast. He is teaching great management skills and techniques just sharing his stories. Much respect
We all know Jake wanted to hear at 52:30 Lance Stroll
This was such a great interview. You knew he was torn in his Alpine role, so interesting to see his perspective on the culture of not only Alpines but others as well.
Piastri signed with McLaren because there would be no seat for him the next year with Alpine. Then Alonso suddenly moved to Aston Martin. The Alpine seat opened. But it was too late. Piastri was gone. You can't blame Oscar for wanting a drive and switching. This needs to be brought out.
Yeah he mentioned that the deal was done 6 months before he joined
This is awesome. What a genuine guy! Hope to see him back in F1 soon: class act!
He's a good bugger. Good to listen to. Alpine are missing him now
He does spend a lot of detail explaining how badly they screwed up with Piastri but then says Zak Brown should be embarrassed? Cant square that circle, Piastri took a chance to get out that Otmar ultimately also would have been glad to do if he wasnt fired. He cant blame others for the shambles.
To me, it seemed he'd been told he will not embarrass the brand by revealing the true details of the situation and thus had to fight their corner.
@@joebarthram596 True, that could be the case. He does seem happy to reveal all the dirty washing elsewhere though?
Maybe partly its personal - as he says, its a Piranha club and all those Team Principals and Execs are very competitive.
The funny thing is, given Alpine beat McLaren in 2022, Otmar is on camera laughing and saying 'good luck to Oscar!' when it looked like Piastri had left for a poorer team.
Hes a good bugger? You two root a lot or just a couple times? Lmao 😂
Honestly so much valuable insight into management here
I still think it’s hilarious that Alpine scapegoated Otmar and then fell off a cliff