New Racing Bulls boss 'eternally grateful' after 'saddest day' sacking

New Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane has expressed that he is "eternally grateful" to Red Bull for hiring him after his brutal Alpine sacking.

Permane has become F1's newest team principal following a reshuffle at Red Bull's two teams following Christian Horner's dismissal from the senior team on July 9th. 

Laurent Mekies has replaced Horner, with Permane moving up from the racing director position at Racing Bulls to become a team principal for the first time, the Belgian Grand Prix being his first race in the post.

Permane is a stalwart of F1, having first worked in grand prix racing in 1989 for Benetton, and then rose through the ranks to become sporting director of what eventually became Alpine.

However, during the 2023 Belgian GP weekend, it was announced that he, along with team boss Otmar Szafnauer, had been sacked and would be leaving after the weekend's action, bringing to a close 34 years of service for what is known as 'Team Enstone.'

The Red Bull family quickly snapped Permane up to join the newly re-badged Racing Bulls team, below then-boss Mekies and team CEO Peter Bayer.

Reflecting on the whirlwind events and change in fortunes from two years ago, Permane expressed his gratitude.

"It's been quite a journey, that's for sure," Permane told media when asked by RacingNews365 to reflect on the turnaround since 2023. 

"Two years ago, here was a very sad day for me, but I will always be eternally grateful to the Red Bull family for what they've done for me. 

"I've worked with many team bosses, and I think my plan at the moment is that nothing changes, we are on a good trajectory. 

"Things are working very, very well, we've made a very nice car, it is quick, and we're going racing with a good spirit. The plan is to keep that going for now.

Permane has now joined Stake boss Jonathan Wheatley, Haas's Ayao Komatsu, and incoming Alpine racing director Steve Nielsen as a team boss with experience of working for 'Team Enstone.'

Wheatley, Nielsen and Permane were all Benetton team members in the mid-1990s in the Michael Schumacher heyday, with the team also known as Renault, Lotus, Renault and now Alpine, with Komatsu serving as chief race engineer during the 'Lotus' guise.

When asked why so many former 'Enstone' engineers were now F1 team bosses, Permane was not so quick to draw the link. 

"It was a good environment to work in those days," he said.

"Jonathan was at Red Bull for a long time, so he's grown up there, and Steve has been out of a team for eight or nine years, so I don't think we can put it all down to Enstone."