Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer insists reports linking him with shock Alpine switch are 'not based on fact'

Aston Martin Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer has insisted reports linking him with a switch to the Alpine team are "not based on fact".

Szafnauer first worked in Formula 1 with British American Racing and then Honda before joining Force India in 2009 and becoming Team Principal in 2018 after Lawrence Stroll's consortium took over the Silverstone-based squad ahead of a rebrand first to Racing Point and then this year to Aston Martin.

As the Formula 1 circus gathered in Brazil for this weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Szafnauer released a statement on his Instagram account saying that rumours he would soon be switching to a senior role at the Alpine team were "pure media speculation".

He wrote: "My Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team communications staff have correctly issued a spokeperson's statement to the effect that rumours linking me to Alpine F1 Team are merely 'speculative conjecture' and that they would not therefore comment further.

"However, since the rumours have now been sensationalised on certain websites, creating a spiral of misinformation, I have taken the decision proactively to confirm hereby that the rumours are pure media speculation and not based on fact."

Heading into the race weekend at Interlagos Aston Martin are seventh in the constructors' championship, 38 points behind Alpine.

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