Haas team boss Gunther Steiner has backed Otmar Szafnauer to move on from his Alpine Formula 1 departure “pretty quick”.
During the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Alpine announced that Szafnauer would leave the team after the event, as well as sporting director Alan Permane.
Szafnauer joined Alpine in 2022 to lead the team following several years at the Silverstone-based squad then ran under several guises including its current Aston Martin label.
While Steiner acknowledges that Szafnauer will be disappointed by how his tenure at Alpine ended, he believes his peer will move on swiftly.
“How it was done is not the normal way, but everybody does it their own way. I think obviously Otmar will be disappointed, but he has been there before.
“If you are in this job, I think most of us have been there before. One door closes, another one opens. In the end, in this job, it is just a difficult job. You are in the public eye; things can happen, and you just have to deal with that.
“I’m not saying that it’s nice to deal with it, but it’s part of it. I think Otmar will be over it pretty quick.
“As I said he has been there before, and these things they happen, it’s part of our life as a Team Principal.”
Alpine has not yet appointed a replacement, but recent rumours have suggested that ex-Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto is in the frame to take up the position.
The French manufacturer currently sits sixth in the Constructors’ Championship after the opening 12 rounds this year.
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