Otmar Szafnauer | |
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 Szafnauer in 2018 | |
| Born | 13 August 1964 Semlac, Arad County, SR Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian and American [1] |
| Alma mater | Wayne State University University of Detroit |
| Awards | USF2000 Hall of Fame 2013 |
Otmar Marin Szafnauer (born 13 August 1964) is a Romanian and American engineer. He served as Team Principal of the Alpine F1 Team until the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.
Szafnauer was born in Semlac, a small village in Western Romania to an American father of German descent and a Romanian mother. [2] His family moved to Detroit in the United States when he was seven years old. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Wayne State University in Detroit [3] before completing a master's degree in business and finance from the University of Detroit Mercy. [3]
He joined the Ford Motor Company in 1986 and was appointed Programmes Manager for Ford in the United States. While working for Ford, he attended the Jim Russell Racing Driver School and started racing in Formula Ford in 1991. He left Ford in 1998 to become Operations Director at British American Racing in Formula One. After unsuccessful discussions with Jaguar Racing, he was hired by Honda on its return to Formula One in 2001, rising to Vice President of Honda Racing Developments and a member of the Management Board of the Honda F1 team. [4] After leaving Honda in 2008, [5] he founded Soft Pauer [6] which released the official Formula One Timing and Track Positioning Application [7] on the iPhone in June 2009.
Szafnauer joined Force India in October 2009 and played an integral role in the team's improved performance with the team going on an upward path, finishing seventh in 2010 and sixth in 2011, 2013 and 2014 before breaking into the top five in 2015 and achieving the team-best finish of fourth in 2016 and 2017. Szafnauer's efforts also played an instrumental role in the team securing a long-term agreement to use the Mercedes powertrain from the 2014 season onwards.
Szafnauer remained with Force India as they were sold in 2019 and became Aston Martin for the 2021 season, before leaving the team in January 2022. [8] In February 2022, he joined the BWT Alpine F1 Team as team principal. [9] He left Alpine after the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix. [10]
In 2013, Szafnauer was inducted into the USF2000 Hall of Fame in recognition of his racing achievements in motorsport over the last twenty years.
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | ATL | IRP | WGI | MDO | RAM 13 | NHS | SHA1 | SHA2 | LRP | ??? | ??? |
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | IRP1 22 | IRP2 19 | 500 | WGI 26 | BFR 18 | TOP | NHS 19 | SHA1 19 | SHA2 26 | LRP | ??? | ??? |
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | PIR1 | PIR2 | 500 DNQ | RIR | WGI | MDO1 | NHS | ATL1 | ATL2 | MDO1 | – | – |
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team and the second most successful Formula One team after Ferrari, having won 183 races, 12 Drivers' Championships and 8 Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history of competing in American open wheel racing, as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team.
A driver development program is a system or structure designed for young kart and race car drivers to learn and perfect their racing skills. These programmes are devised by racing teams, external companies and funded partnerships primarily to attract and develop future racing talent. Most programmes now employ a wide range of skilled coaches and technologies to train all of the physical and psychological abilities inherent in driving at the limit and winning races. Most racing teams will sign a driver to a multi-year contract in which they fund or part fund the driver in junior formulas and gradually help them succeed to the highest levels of motorsport. Some teams have been criticized for unfair long-term and low-paying contracts for the talented drivers they find whilst also charging the less talented drivers very high fees for the use of their simulations and facilities. Companies that specialise in racing driver training or development programmes remain commercially viable through selling time in their simulators or gyms and generally speaking do not fund a drivers career. Funded partnerships, good driver management companies and driver search and development initiatives will fund or part fund a drivers development and will survive as long as the owners financial commitment and or success at recouping their investment. Be that a return from a talented drivers wages or a promotional exercise designed by a brand or corporation.
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Aston Martin is a British car manufacturer that has participated in Formula One in various forms and is currently racing in F1 under the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team name. The company first participated in Formula One during the 1959 season where they debuted the DBR4 chassis using their own engine but it failed to score any points. They continued to perform poorly through the 1960 season, once again failing to score any points. As a result, Aston Martin decided to leave Formula One after 1960.
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The Aston Martin AMR22 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Aston Martin F1 team to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship.
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