"He didn't yell at us": Former Alpine man Otmar Szafnauer remembers the distinct leadership style of Force India owner Vijay Mallya

Otmar Szafnauer recently reflected on Vijay Mallya's solution-oriented approach as team owner at Force India. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda in Monza, the former Alpine team principal acknowledged that financial constraints were the team's biggest challenge.

Szafnauer served as Chief Operating Officer at Force India from 2008, its second season. When the team faced financial difficulties and was subsequently acquired by Lawrence Stroll and a group of investors, it was rebranded as Racing Point. Szafnauer played a key role in steering the team through this turbulent period and was eventually promoted to team principal. He departed the Silverstone-based outfit after leading it for two years under the Aston Martin name.

Force India, unlike Aston Martin, operated on a shoestring budget from the start but managed to outperform expectations on track. With Mercedes engines in the V6 era, the team achieved a best-ever fourth-place finish in the constructors' standings, a success yet to be replicated under the Aston Martin brand. Otmar Szafnauer attributed some of this success to Mallya's hands-off, solution-driven leadership style, though he admitted that finances were a constant hurdle.

Asked by Sportskeeda about the experience of managing Force India under such tight financial constraints, Otmar Szafnauer said,

“So at Force India, our rough waters were never having the budget requirement right—those were our rough waters. But our rough waters weren’t, you know, an owner that micromanaged, for example. Vijay just let us get on with it. Very rarely would Vijay get involved. But I remember at one time, just when I got there, we had an inordinate amount of reliability failures. And I remember our reliability process and reporting faults and how we go about fixing them and making sure we fix the root cause.”

“I thought it was robust. It was as robust as anything I’ve seen anywhere in all our teams. I remember Vijay getting us all together and he didn't yell at us. He didn't call us incompetent. He didn't say we were amateurs, nothing. He got us together and said, ‘Look, for me, we're having too many on-track failures.’ And this is just the seniors. He said, ‘Why don't we all go home and have an introspective review of what we're doing and come back and see how we can fix this?’ That's what he said. Your team's your solution. Vijay looked at it like that. Smart,” he added.

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Otmar Szafnauer reckons Vijay Mallya and Force India would have existed if it weren’t for Kingfisher airlines

Otmar Szafnauer attributed Force India's financial struggles to Vijay Mallya's airline venture, Kingfisher Airlines, rather than his other business interests like United Spirits. Szafnauer explained that the airline industry's immense costs far surpassed those of running an F1 team, and believed that if Mallya had not pursued the airline, he might still be involved in the sport today. Many would still consider the F1 venture as one of Mallya's most successful ventures. However, the downfall of Kingfisher Airlines impacted the team and its existence.

Szafnauer also reflected on the welcoming culture at Force India, recalling how Mallya created an open and inclusive environment. He described how the team’s motorhome always had an open-door policy, with Mallya greeting everyone warmly and never questioning anyone’s presence. According to the 60-year-old, the atmosphere was a hallmark of Mallya’s leadership and made Force India a uniquely welcoming team in the paddock.

Asked by Sportkseeda about the downfall of Force India, Szafnauer said:

"I think is only looking at it now and I was involved not involved intimately but I was there when it happened the only thing and it wasn't King Fisher the beer or United Spirits. It was just the airline yes just the airline and the problem with an airline is it eats up money even more so than Formula 1 by a lot cause those airplanes aren’t cheap. So if it wasn’t for probably starting the airline, Vijay would probably be in the paddock today.”

Reflecting upon the Force India team at its prime, Szafnauer said:

“Our motorhome at Force India open door policy and that was one when you walked in you were welcome BJ was always at one of the table smoking his cigars and he welcomed you with open arms never did he look at anyone and say what the heck are they doing he never called me over ever to say who's that and why are they here yeah. Remember we had a bar. So Force India was a very welcoming environment. Maybe that's the words to talk about it.”

Force India went into administration during the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix, with Szafnauer playing a crucial role in steering the team through the transition from Vijay Mallya’s ownership to its new investors. His efforts helped secure numerous jobs amid the uncertainty caused by Mallya’s financial troubles. Despite the challenges, the team achieved back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the constructors' standings in 2016 and 2017. Now rebranded as Aston Martin, the Silverstone-based outfit has evolved beyond its midfield status. Although they have yet to surpass a fifth-place finish, various structural changes and strategic additions have positioned them as strong contenders for the future.