Szafnauer not ruling out Aston Martin return

One of Otmar Szafnauer’s last acts before leaving the F1 paddock and his role as Alpine team boss behind in Belgium was to stop in at the Aston Martin motorhome.

He may, of course, have simply been saying farewell to his former colleagues, as only he moved from the Silverstone based team to chaos-struck Alpine for the start of 2022.

Sky Deutschland reports that Szafnauer was seen emerging from the Aston Martin facility before departing Spa-Francorchamps, to which the 58-year-old said: "I will not comment.

"As you can see, my adventure at Alpine has just ended. Now I can join a new team from now on. Let’s wait and see."

It is believed Szafnauer was the key to BWT, an Austrian water company, moving with him from Aston Martin to Alpine - potentially making him very attractive to his next F1 employer.

What is clear is that he is disappointed about his Alpine exit.

"I was just starting to get in tune with the team - getting to know everyone, how to motivate them," he is quoted by DAZN.

"You know, a rising tide lifts all boats, and I was starting to get to that point."

Explaining his last moments in charge of Alpine, Szafnauer revealed: "There were people - not so much me - crying and saying goodbye.

"I told them ’Look, I’m still alive - I haven’t died’. I’ll be fine.

"Personally, I’ll be fine. My only concern is the wonderful men and women of Enstone and Viry, who work so hard and do a good job. I hope their future is bright."