Chandhok fears for Alpine’s F1 future: “The same thing happened with Toyota…”
Alpine announced the departures of team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane midway through the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Technical chief Pat Fry’s switch to Williams was also confirmed.
With Alpine struggling for form in F1 2023, slipping to sixth in the constructors’ championship as Aston Martin and McLaren have improved, Chandhok has questioned whether Renault - the manufactuer who own the Alpine brand - will still have the appetite to remain in the sport.
“The reality is that they are the sixth best team on the grid with the sixth fastest car, but they are the third largest global brand in the automotive world,” he said.
“Your results are not good enough. My concern is if they are going to continue with managers who come from outside the world of motorsport and F1.
“If you look at the people who are in some departments of Enstone, they have been signed up from the road car division. Perhaps now you are asking the question that the Renault corporation. The same thing happened to Toyota 20 years ago. They are going down a path where they can throw in the towel with Formula 1 or they are going down a corporate path that I am convinced is not going to work.”
The former HRT driver believes there’s simply “a lack of direction” at Alpine.
“Three great figures have left,” he added. “Alan Permane had been there for more than 33 years and Pat Fry seems to have left on his own, no one has thrown him out.
“He is a great signing for Williams and at Alpine I think there is a lack of direction.
“For me, they have fired important people in the operational aspect and from within the track, So I think you already know where your problems are.”
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