Martin Brundle doesn’t rule out former Ferrari boss joining Alpine F1

Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto is being linked to the vacant team principal position at Alpine. The French outfit announced the surprising departures of their team principal and sporting director ahead of the Belgian GP.

According to reports, Binotto could be Otmar Szafnauer's successor as the Alpine team principal. Former F1 driver Martin Brundle admitted that he "wouldn't be surprised" if the Italian engineer was announced to lead the Enstone-based squad.

Having been in the F1 paddock for decades, Brundle acknowledged how rumors can transform into facts while discussing Alpine's future during the Belgian GP weekend.

"This is a funny old place as you know, you can start a rumor just for fun and see how quickly it comes back to you as fact," the Sky Sports F1 pundit said during the Belgian GP.

"But it's not out of the question. Binotto has got a lot of experience, obviously in the Ferrari system, and knows about running a Formula 1 team. Obviously, it didn't work out for him at Ferrari otherwise he'd still be there. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was announced, no," he added.

Mattia Binotto worked at Maranello for 28 years and served as the Ferrari team principal for four seasons between 2019 to 2022. Following his resignation from the role last season, he is currently on gardening leave.

Currently, Alpine's engine chief Bruno Famin has taken charge to lead the team on an interim basis until a team principal is appointed. However, Famin recently suggested that the team is "not at the stage" of choosing a candidate for the role.

Heading into the summer break, Famin will be assessing the situation and trying to decide the priorities while steadying the ship for the squad at Enstone.

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Martin Brundle was "taken aback" by Alpine's high-profile sackings

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane were axed by the top bosses of the team. The two were informed on the eve of the Belgian GP that it would be their last weekend with the team.

Martin Brundle termed the sackings "brutal" as he was taken aback by the sudden announcement.

“I’m still taken aback by their wholesale forced departure of experienced F1 folk, and apparently with more to come,” he wrote in his column for Sky Sports. "I must assume there are wise and knowledgeable people incoming that we’ve yet to hear about."

“Publicly binning team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane mid-event while they still had a job to do on the pit wall was brutal even by F1’s less-than-impressive standards in this respect.”

Alpine took the unprecedented step of overhauling its top management in the middle of the season as they hope a change in leadership will help them achieve the goal of becoming a frontrunner in F1.