Departed Alpine top executive hints at period of gardening leave

This term is used in Formula 1 when someone is required to sit at home for a certain period of time after saying goodbye to an employer. He or she can only start working for a new team if they have fulfilled the gardening leave. This was introduced because otherwise sensitive information from teams could end up at the competitor's in no time when personnel switch.

For Budkowski, this is probably what awaits him. Prior to his switch to Renault at the end of 2017, Budkowski also had to deal with gardening leave. He was initially employed by the FIA and, as an employee of the motorsport federation, therefore had certain knowledge of other teams. If these ended up at Renault directly, it would harm racing teams. Budkowski was initially only supposed to be barred from working for Renault for a period of three months, but after six Formula One teams complained about this arrangement, the leave period then came to about six months. From April 2018, Budkowski could start working for the team. However, after just over three years, he can already look for a new challenge.