Alpine continues its great renovation process. The last two months have seen the departure of its CEO, Marcin Budkowski, then the non-renewal of director Alain Prost, and later a restructuring of its technical team, with Pat Fry promoted to Chief Technical Officer, and his previous role as technical director passes into the hands of Matt Harman .
Now, the open secret is announced that Otmar Szafnauer, formerly of Aston Martin, will be the new main team, and in turn Davide Brivio leaves office. However, the Italian will not return to what was his successful home, the Suzuki MotoGP team, but will continue with the French firm, dedicating himself to the pilot academy and other competition programs outside of Formula 1.
Davide Brivio’s new role will be Director of Racing Expansion Projects , where he will oversee the development of the talent of the French team’s young drivers, as well as Alpine’s involvement in other categories.
Despite announcing his departure from Aston Martin Racing in early January, Szafnauer is expected to make his debut for the team at the season-opening Bahrain GP. The Romanian-American will work closely with Bruno Famin , who has been appointed executive director of Renault’s engine project in Viry de. The Frenchman was part of the FIA, where he was Deputy General Secretary for Sport, and was also involved in running the technical program for Peugeot ‘s successful Le Mans project.
Thus, after having three bosses in 2021, the team of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon leaves that triumvirate to return to a more traditional structure.
Szafnauer had been at the helm of the team that was first Force India, then Racing Point and later Aston Martin for many years, and Sergio Pérez’s win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix was his best result.
“I am delighted to be joining Alpine and I am ready to work with everyone to achieve our challenge – to lead the team to contend for the championship in the next 100 races,” he said.
“My focus is on preparing for the season opener in Bahrain. As one of three car manufacturers involved in Formula 1, Alpine is fully armed to achieve its ambition – I can’t wait to start the journey!”
CEO Laurent Rossi continues to make changes in his quest for glory, and is confident that Alpine, given the opportunity presented by the new rules and changes made, will step up.
“With the arrival of Otmar and Bruno, we are moving to a new level for 2022,” he stated.
“Otmar will bring his unique motorsports experience and unwavering desire to win, while Bruno’s proven track record in creating technologies that make a difference in racing and then transferring them to road cars is central to our project as sports team and as a brand”.
“Over the last year, I have seen Davide’s talent for identifying the best in people and making them perform at their best. I am delighted to use that unique ability across all existing Alpine assets and new ones we are beginning to explore.” “.
Brivio, for his part, who joined the team last year after making Suzuki champion in MotoGP in 2020, was excited about his new project:
“Alpine’s youth program is key to its long-term performance, and I am delighted to be able to contribute to the exciting ambition of shaping a new culture within racing that is responsible and inclusive,” he commented. “Formula 1 is the flagship, but we also need to develop our ambition in new territories, and I am ready to support Laurent Rossi towards that goal.”
