Alpine chief Bruno Famin has suggested that the team's search for a new Team Principal has not started yet, putting Mattia Binotto's proposed move in fresh doubt.
The French constructor parted company with Otmar Szafnauer following the Belgian Grand Prix in July. Szafnauer, 59, joined Alpine ahead of the 2022 season and guided them to a fourth-placed finish in the constructors' standings. But results at the start of the campaign left a lot to be desired and Alpine chose to make a change.
In the process, Alpine decided to appoint Famin as interim Team Principal as they looked to improve their performances on the track. Binotto, who left Ferrari in December 2022, has been linked with the vacancy after three years in the Team Principal role at the Italian motorsport company.
However, Famin has revealed that they have not started their search for a permanent successor for Szafnauer, seeding doubt into whether Binotto will return to Formula One with Alpine. They are currently sixth in the Constructors' Standings with 81 points from 14 races.
Famin said: "I am still assessing everything. I think we have a lot of good people in Enstone and Viry in our team and the track side team. For the time being, the priority is not finding somebody, it is trying to get the best of everybody.
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"I have already seen quite a lot of changes on the trackside team. Different mindset, much more productivity, much better execution. I think it's very good and at the factories I'm still assessing of course the situation, especially in Enstone, but we are all really focused in really trying to get the people all together as one team, of course in each of the factories, but also the two factories together in order to to free the whole energy on creativity.
Bruno Famin is Alpine's current interim Team Principal (Getty Images)Who should Alpine appoint as their next Team Principle? Let us know in the comments below!
"We have a lot of good people, we have a lot of potential. Our car has good potential, it’s up to us to show it on the track but this is what I’m working on."
It is the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend and ahead of the race, Alpine driver Esteban Ocon has taken some time out to race against Lewis Hamilton while using remote controlled cars in the pit lane at Suzuka. The pair worked together at Mercedes when Ocon was one of the team's reserves.
"I was super-impressed because he hasn’t done it for years," said Ocon. "He was like, yeah I’ll start slow and all that. I practice a lot, I’m constantly on it, and straight away, like first braking point, he nails it. So that’s more than impressive."
"Esteban and I had planned, obviously a while ago, that while we're here, we'll get our remote control cars together and have a bit of a race in the pit lane," Hamilton added.
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