Taming F1's hottest team
Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer has the unenviable task of laying down the law to Formula 1's spiciest driver pairing, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. STUART CODLING took him to Perez's favourite Indian restaurant for a (medium-hot) grilling...
Hot. Few other words can convey so pithily last season's developments at Force India, Formula 1's punchiest equipe. Retina-sizzling livery? Check. Owner fighting extradition to India? Check. Drivers not just at loggerheads in the garage but hitting one another on-track? Check.
As chief operating officer, Otmar Szafnauer straddles the line between business and engineering (he's got qualifications in both); Vijay Mallya might own the team, but Szafnauer runs it day-to-day, having fulfilled that beat at Honda and British American Racing before that, with a brief interregnum during which he developed the forerunner of the official F1 app.
Share Or Save This Story
More from GP Racing
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The military precision involved in bringing F1 broadcasts to life
The science behind determining F1 suspension set-ups
Why star-struck Alpine F1 drivers aren't the biggest beneficiary of Zidane's wisdom
The factors that explain F1’s uniquely conservative driver choices for 2024
Who will lead the Mercedes F1 resurgence in 2024?
The Verstappen standard McLaren wants Norris to reach in F1 2024
How Steiner’s exit underlines the changed role of F1’s team bosses
Latest news
Alpine F1 driver Gasly becomes co-owner in French football club
The key MotoGP change that has gone under the radar in 2024
What the data tells us about Mercedes’ latest F1 problems
Everything you need to know about the pitwall in F1 - who sits there and what does it do?
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.