Born in Romania of an American-German father, the family moved to Detroit in 1971, where Otmar grew up. In 1986, he joined the local Ford business as a programmes manager, having gained finance, management and engineering degrees. He then had a brief racing career himself in US Formula Ford in the early 1990's where he competed against the likes of Jeret Schroeder and Memo Gidley. In 1998, Otmar moved to Formula 1, initially with BAR and then with Honda. Away from the sport, he developed a picture app. In 2009, Otmar joined Force India as a manager and then as CEO before in 2018, becoming team principal after the team was bought out as Racing Point. He remained there until the beginning of 2022 with the team now rebranded (again) as Aston Martin. He moved to Alpine in a similar role shortly afterwards but left there mid-2023. He has returned to developing apps, including an event management app, as part of his business; the Softpauer organisation. He is also involved in American F1 opportunities and projects.

Biography last updated 31 Jul 2024