Although Schaffnauer has endured a difficult few weeks after finding himself at the center of a silly season in the F1 driver market when alpine lost Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri to McLarenRossi does not praise him.

Rossi says that despite what has happened to the drivers, the team is still frustrated by the lack of loyalty from Piastre, he is adamant that Schaffnauer has helped drive Alpine’s competitiveness since he took charge in March.

And while some suggest Alpine has a fuzzy management structure that doesn’t help, Rossi says now that things have settled down within the team, everything is crystal clear internally.

“Othmar is the boss and has always been since he arrived,” Rossi explained.

“I had a little transition period to hand over a couple of cases, but Othmar, by the way, is one of those I’m proud of.

“He’s been driving every day since he arrived and he’s the boss. On such topics as [drivers] we are located nearby, so we knew about all the events.

“We agreed sometimes on maximums, limits, boundaries, because of course we have to be aligned and I have to know [what is happening]. But there was no real gap between us.”

Although Rossi hasn’t been in the public eye as much this year as before, he says that’s a consequence of his decision to appoint Schaffnauer to the team as its boss.

Previously, the team had a management structure of three managers – Rossi, former executive director Marcin Budkowski and race director David Brivio.

In the winter, Budkowski left the team and Brivio moved into a new role, overseeing the young drivers and Alpine’s other competitive projects.

With Schaffnauer in place, Rossi says he always intended to step back – and he wants to be less involved in F1 from now on.

“I was very involved in the team last year, mainly because there was no team manager,” he said.

“There was a need for leadership presence and I needed to understand how the team worked before I made the changes I wanted to make, which I did.

“I believe that they work: and we give a result, which, by the way, is the most important thing in sports. So, I need to take distance.

“This year, for example, in the first half of the season, I was here for about two grands prix out of three, which is already too many. I’m going to be one GP out of two here by the end of the year, maybe even less. And that’s normal.

“I have 17 reports, including one for F1. I have to build cars, I have to expand the dealer network. I have to think about go-to-market strategy, marketing and brand building. The other 16 reports are just as important as the F1 report, maybe even more so because it will be funded at some point. So of course it’s normal that I disappear a little bit.

“In the same way as Luke [de Meo, Renault CEO] not behind me all the time because he knows all the very important decisions, I never make critical decisions without his consideration, or at least approval or inclusion and input.

“Otmar and I work equally. I’m just connected to him and know everything that’s going on.

“Otmar is the boss. I trust him completely and he does a great job. So that gives me peace of mind and I believe he will continue to develop the team.”

Although Schaffnauer has endured a difficult few weeks after finding himself at the center of a silly season in the F1 driver market when alpine lost Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri to McLarenRossi does not praise him.

Rossi says that despite what has happened to the drivers, the team is still frustrated by the lack of loyalty from Piastre, he is adamant that Schaffnauer has helped drive Alpine’s competitiveness since he took charge in March.

And while some suggest Alpine has a fuzzy management structure that doesn’t help, Rossi says now that things have settled down within the team, everything is crystal clear internally.

“Othmar is the boss and has always been since he arrived,” Rossi explained.

“I had a little transition period to hand over a couple of cases, but Othmar, by the way, is one of those I’m proud of.

“He’s been driving every day since he arrived and he’s the boss. On such topics as [drivers] we are located nearby, so we knew about all the events.

“We agreed sometimes on maximums, limits, boundaries, because of course we have to be aligned and I have to know [what is happening]. But there was no real gap between us.”

Although Rossi hasn’t been in the public eye as much this year as before, he says that’s a consequence of his decision to appoint Schaffnauer to the team as its boss.

Previously, the team had a management structure of three managers – Rossi, former executive director Marcin Budkowski and race director David Brivio.

In the winter, Budkowski left the team and Brivio moved into a new role, overseeing the young drivers and Alpine’s other competitive projects.

With Schaffnauer in place, Rossi says he always intended to step back – and he wants to be less involved in F1 from now on.

“I was very involved in the team last year, mainly because there was no team manager,” he said.

“There was a need for leadership presence and I needed to understand how the team worked before I made the changes I wanted to make, which I did.

“I believe that they work: and we give a result, which, by the way, is the most important thing in sports. So, I need to take distance.

“This year, for example, in the first half of the season, I was here for about two grands prix out of three, which is already too many. I’m going to be one GP out of two here by the end of the year, maybe even less. And that’s normal.

“I have 17 reports, including one for F1. I have to build cars, I have to expand the dealer network. I have to think about go-to-market strategy, marketing and brand building. The other 16 reports are just as important as the F1 report, maybe even more so because it will be funded at some point. So of course it’s normal that I disappear a little bit.

“In the same way as Luke [de Meo, Renault CEO] not behind me all the time because he knows all the very important decisions, I never make critical decisions without his consideration, or at least approval or inclusion and input.

“Otmar and I work equally. I’m just connected to him and know everything that’s going on.

“Otmar is the boss. I trust him completely and he does a great job. So that gives me peace of mind and I believe he will continue to develop the team.”