“I doubt he’s going to be unemployed for too long” - Red Bull F1 boss confident that sacked Alpine chief will soon be back

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hailed former Alpine chief Alan Permane while talking about the latter's services for the Enstone-based squad.

Permane served the Alpine F1 team for 34 years, having joined the team back when it was known as Benetton in 1989. Despite his loyal service to the team, the test electronics engineer who had risen to the ranks to become the Sporting Director was axed by the team prior to the Belgian GP this year.

He and team principal Otmar Szafnauer were the latest victims of the Alpine hierarchy, to be ousted for failing to make progress. Horner, however, believes Permane will have no difficulty joining another team.

“For Alan, or ‘Bat’, as I think he’s better known in the pit lane, 34 years in any job is a truly remarkable achievement. To go from Benetton to Renault to whatever… Lotus, back to Renault to Alpine, he’s been one of the mainstays there,” the Red Bull boss told Speedcafe.com.

“And obviously he’s been there through the World Championship periods of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, so a hugely competent guy. I doubt he’s going to be unemployed for too long,” he added.

The British engineer has seen the highs and lows with the Alpine team through its various name changes in the last three decades. From winning championships with Schumacher and Alonso, Permane has more importantly stood by the team, anchoring the Estone squad during its tough times.

“But just hats off to what he’s done with that team, particularly, when you look at the difficult periods when they were looking at insolvency and the issues with shareholders and the transfer for all the team. That’s when the team needs clear guidance and leadership and mainstays, and I was particularly impressed at that point in time that he was a solid pillar,” Horner added.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has also been full of praise for Alan Permane. He was recently quoted as calling him, "one of the rocks of Formula 1" by motorsport.com.

Permane hasn't announced his next step but has various allies in the paddock, where he could find a new home.

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Wolff points out why Red Bull's domination isn't entertaining

Meanwhile, with Red Bull winning every race in the first half of the 2023 season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is bored of the domination, despite more or less being in the same position for the last seven years.

Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen

According to Wolff, the current Red Bull pairing doesn't have two drivers fighting for the title, while the Mercedes lineup had drivers with equal footing in the team.

"I don't know whether our dominance was similar or less," Wolff was quoted as saying by RacingNews365. "I think we had years where we did it in the same way. But at least we had two cars that were fighting each other so that caused a little bit of entertainment for everyone. That's not the case at the moment."

Wolff's comments highlight a bitter truth as Sergio Perez has managed only two race wins this season while Max Verstappen is doing the chunk of the winning with 10 victories.