Here's our much-awaited Otmar Szafnauer interview.
The entire interview is so good that we decided to split it into two parts.
In part 1 and on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Otmar talks to Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah about his journey into Formula 1, how he was interviewed and hired at Force India. At Force India, Otmar worked his magic - the team was called "pound for pound" World Champion and he proudly explains exactly why.
Also known as "best of the rest" for finishing just behind the top-3 teams, Otmar explains the exact budget gap that existed between Force India and the top teams. In fact, Otmar is of the strong opinion that Force India would've been World Champions in Formula 1 had all teams operated on the same budget.
In this episode, he also explains why he decided to move on from Force India / Racing Point & Aston Martin despite saving the team from shutting down only a few years ago.
Otmar has worked with three billionaires - Lawrence Stroll, Subrata Roy and Vijay Mallya. He explains the difference in working styles between Stroll-Mallya and offers a comment on Stroll Sr.'s view that his son Lance is a future World Champion.
If there's one episode that's a must-listen in this off-season, it's this!
P.S.: Part 2 will release on 5th February, 2024.
(Season 2024, Episode 04)
Follow our hosts: Soumil Arora, Kunal Shah and Otmar Szafnauer
Image courtesy: Wikipedia