In an exclusive discussion with Paddock Magazine during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Alan Permane, Team Principal of Racing Bulls, looks back on a career shaped by steady effort instead of detailed plans, shares why race engineering stands as Formula 1's top role, talks about Fernando Alonso's rare skill, and explains how his move to Team Principal has shifted his view on what drives results.

Permane has filled nearly every position Formula 1 offers. Starting at Benetton as a young electronics engineer in 1989 and rising to Team Principal of Racing Bulls just before the sport's latest regulations, his path covers more than thirty years of ongoing shifts. He has teamed with Michael Schumacher, Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso, supported title-winning efforts, and taken on almost every key engineering post at the track, moving from Race Engineer and Chief Race Engineer to Sporting Director and now Team Principal.

Unlike many current team leaders who come from business or sales paths, Permane's guidance grew from hands-on work in the garage. His approach stays tied to engineering, with every choice judged by one key test: does it help the car, or now the whole team, go faster?

His rise to Team Principal came after one of the toughest times in his career. Following more than three decades at the Enstone squad, Permane left in 2023 and soon joined the Red Bull group. Before long he was guiding Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team through Formula 1's largest rule changes in years.

You entered Formula 1 in 1989 at age 22. Was a career in the sport always your goal?

No, not really. I have always enjoyed cars, motor racing and Formula 1, but I was also fortunate.

I finished an apprenticeship in electronic engineering, and Benetton needed someone with almost the same skills. It was basically the same work I had done before, only now on racing cars.

I recall the interview well. Pat Symonds, Pat Fry and another team member spoke with me, and I was lucky to get the role. Looking back, I see how fortunate that was, as such chances are rare.

You have held nearly every engineering post in Formula 1 before becoming Team Principal. Which part of your career stands out most?

I would not call it the part I am most proud of, since I truly like what I do now, but race engineering was a great role.

“I still recall the interview clearly. Pat Symonds, Pat Fry and another team member spoke with me, and I was fortunate to get the job.”

You sit at the center of all activity. You shape what happens at the track and can also affect work back at the factory. You work closely with the design team, help motivate staff, support development and take part in nearly every area that improves results.

It is a position where you truly feel your input can change the outcome. That is what made it so rewarding.

The bond between driver and race engineer has often proved vital. How important is that link?

It matters greatly. Some drivers work better with a close tie to their race engineer. Each person is unique.

You see this across the paddock now. Lewis, for instance, seems to have found a link that suits him well this season. Perhaps last year was tougher.

Yet many also overlook how hard it is to switch teams. I faced something similar myself a few years ago after a long stay in one group.

When you have spent decades in one place, you know everyone, every process and every method. Moving to a new setting is never simple, no matter your experience.

Is there a time in your career you feel especially proud of, or any moments that were tough?

What I feel proud of most now is what we are creating at Racing Bulls. I still see us as on a path, so it is hard to say we have reached all our aims. Since becoming Team Principal, I have met many new tests. At first it felt quite heavy. There were many duties I had never faced before.

Now, nearly a year in, I have cleared many of those early hurdles. I do not claim to have mastered it all. Far from it. I still learn each day, and I am sure Toto Wolff or Fred Vasseur would say the same despite their long experience.

They have held the role longest, and they are the ones you watch and learn from. I am pleased with how things are moving. Whether I am doing well is not for me to decide, but I feel we are heading the right way.

Of course there have been hard seasons. I have worked on cars that stayed near the back for almost a full year. Yet hopes shift based on your place.

If you fight at the front, second place feels like a loss. If you fight at the back, starting 16th instead of 20th can feel like a big win. I have always tried to do my best with the car we had. At times that was not enough, but I do not look back with regret over those efforts.

You have been part of title-winning years with Benetton and Renault. What do those wins show about building a strong Formula 1 team?

Titles are never won by one person alone. You need great drivers, great engineers and great cars, but most of all you need a group where everyone pulls in the same direction.

When we won titles with Michael Schumacher in the mid-1990s, and later with Fernando Alonso, there was a strong sense of unity across the team. Everyone knew their part, trusted one another and aimed at the same target.

That is something I have kept with me. Performance comes first, but it only happens when people work well together.

You have worked with many fine drivers, but Fernando Alonso is one you know well. Views on his character differ, yet he still races at the top level. What sets him apart?

Honestly, Fernando is outstanding. He is likely one of the best drivers I have worked with. Certainly among the very best.

Some call him hard to work with, but that was not my experience. There were very few times when that came up. In the end, all Fernando wants is to go fast. That drives him.

I never worked with him as his race engineer. In our title years of 2005 and 2006, I was engineering Giancarlo Fisichella's car, so Fernando was the driver we aimed to beat, and we rarely did.

“Race engineering was a great role; you sit at the center of everything.”

Later, as Chief Race Engineer and then Sporting Director, I worked far more closely with him. What stood out was the trust he builds with his engineers.

Once he trusts those around him, he lets them do their jobs. If the engineers say a certain path is best for the car, he will drive it. That trust helps everyone focus on speed rather than argue over every setting.

Is there something about Fernando that people may miss?

Yes. People often note a driver's preferred style. They say a driver likes understeer, or wants a sharp front, or needs a certain balance.

Fernando does not really have one. He simply drives whatever makes the car quickest. From an engineering view, that is a big plus because it gives full freedom. You are not always wondering if the driver will like a setup.

Instead, you focus only on the fastest setup, and Fernando adjusts to it. To me, that is one trait that sets the very best drivers apart.

Interestingly, Max Verstappen shows a similar trait. I have never worked with Max, so I cannot say for sure, but from watching, it looks much the same. Whatever makes the car quickest, that is what he drives.

You mentioned Max Verstappen. Is that ability to adapt something only the greatest drivers have?

I think it is one of the traits that makes life simpler for engineers. If a driver can find speed from many car traits, the team can improve the package without always adjusting for personal likes.

That does not mean every driver must be the same. Each has their own strengths. But the very best can adjust to what they are given. That is very impressive.

Let us return to Spa 2023. How do you view how that time ended? And do you think you would be here as Team Principal without those events?

No. Not at all.

It was a very hard time for me. After more than thirty years with one team, leaving in that way was not what I expected. It was tough.

Yet I also received great support from people across Formula 1. Many reached out and said, “Do not worry. This may turn out to be the best thing that happened to you.”

At the time it is hard to believe such words. Looking back, they were right.

“Fernando is outstanding. He is likely one of the best drivers I have ever worked with.”

If someone offered me the chance to change what happened, I would not take it. I am very happy where I am now. I am proud to be part of Racing Bulls, and even more proud to lead the team.

Sometimes life moves in ways you do not expect, and in my case it has become something very good.

Becoming Team Principal brings a new set of tests. How much of your work is still engineering, and how much is now about leadership and building the team?

Day to day, it is far less engineering than many might think. But I am still learning how to handle the role well. One thing that has helped a lot is the group around me. We have a strong leadership team here. The directors work well together and truly support one another. That is one of our main strengths.

What is interesting is that my approach has not really changed. Whether as Race Engineer, Chief Engineer or Sporting Director, everything centered on performance. That has always been the goal.

Before, performance meant asking if we should change the front anti-roll bar, use a different rear wing, improve lap time or boost reliability.

Now I ask the same question, but in a new setting. Instead of anti-roll bars and wings, I think about people, facilities, software, investment and resources.

Do we have the right people in the right spots? Do they have the setting, tools and support they need to deliver at the highest level?