The Race F1 Podcast30 Mars 2025

The Team Principal Podcast: Inside the high-stakes world of F1 politics

The Team Principal Podcast is back! On episode 2, Otmar Szafnauer - the former TP of Racing Point, Alpine and Aston Martin - is joined by Ben Anderson to get into the thorny subject of F1 politics.

They begin by discussing internal politics at Red Bull, and whether they played a part in the team dropping Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda after just two races. Otmar also shares his thoughts on how fellow TP Christian Horner has managed the situation.

After that, Otmar discusses the times in his career where he’s had to deal with intra-team politics, including the time he had to resist pressure from a team owner to sign a particular driver, and the time he had to convince Alpine management to capitalise on uncertainty around a driver’s contract. He also explains how team culture is essential to prevent political in-fighting within a team, and how politics contributed to his Alpine exit.

There’s also chat about inter-team politics, and the tactics teams use off-track to gain an edge over the opposition. Otmar also recalls the time he found himself in the middle of a political storm over the so-called ‘Pink Mercedes’ affair, and explains how and why alliances shift between teams. He also takes us into a meeting of team principals, explains how bosses use the media for their own benefit, and much more.

Plus, after Eddie Jordan’s sad recent passing, Otmar pays tribute to a fellow team principal gone too soon.

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