Sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes speculation born from simple speculation results in merely speculation. That is what Aston Martin team boss, Otmar Szafnauer, has said about the current reports that he is leaving the team to join Alpine.
Last week, Laurent Rossi, at Alpine, hinted that there might be a management shakeup in order to get the team back toward the front. The article I read from Mr. Noble, who is not one to typically miss the target much, said that inside information was credible that this may be the case.
We will have to wait and see if it materializes as sometimes early conversations are leaked by someone very prematurely giving time for an incumbent team to engage a retention plan to save their personnel. Other times the rumors do turn out to be true.
As the article says, Otmar reiterated what Aston Martin’s statement which is that the reports in the press are merely media speculation and to be fair, that is literally what it is but that isn’t an actual denial. Labeling it as speculative conjecture is correct from a dictionary description but it is hardly a full-throated denial of the claims.
I am not sure what it would be like to work for Lawrence Stroll. Part of my tool kit holds a high Emotional Quotient or EQ and I tend to see things some others might miss. It was clear to me that Otmar was uncomfortable in last season’s Drive to Survive on Netflix and the entire boardroom meeting scene was a bit off and I was wondering if Otmar was comfortable with his new shoes. Now that’s speculation!
Regardless, I am also curious about Alpine’s choice, if the rumor is true, by picking up Otmar. One could argue that he certainly has delivered decent performances on limited budgets with Force India but Alpine doesn’t have a lot of time to putter around trying to rebuild a team. They canned Cyril Abiteboul, which I saw coming, but they entered F1 with CEO Laurent Rossi, Marcin Budkowski and F1 newcomer Davide Brivio as the leaders. I am not sure where or how Otmar might fit into this equation. Both Budkowski and Bravo are brand new.
Either way, Aston Martin has a lot of momentum going on right now and a tremendous brand to build upon with or without Otmar. Not just the F1 team but their entire racing program is developing and I am not sure Lawrence does anything half-hearted.
Time will tell and right now, all I am doing is engaging in speculative conjecture.
