Bruno Famin (Team Principal and Vice President of Alpine Motorsports)[2] Philippe Krief (Chief Executive Officer)[3]
Technical director
David Sanchez (Executive Technical Director) Joe Burnell (engineering) David Wheater (aerodynamics) Ciaron Pilbeam (performance)[4] Eric Meignan (power unit)[5]
The team has a long history, first competing in Formula One in
1981 as
Toleman, when the team was based in
Witney, England.[13] In
1986, following its purchase by
Benetton Group, it was renamed and competed as
Benetton. As Benetton, it won the
1995 Constructors' Championship and its driver,
Michael Schumacher, won two Drivers' Championships in
1994 and
1995.[14] Prior to the
1992 season it moved to its current location in
Enstone, UK.[15]
By the
2000 season,
Renault had purchased the team (for the first time), and by the
2002 season its name was changed to
Renault F1 Team, and it was racing as Renault.[16] Renault won the Constructors' Championship in
2005 and
2006 and its driver,
Fernando Alonso won the Drivers' Championships in the same two years.[17] In
2011,
Lotus Cars came on board as a sponsor, and the team's name changed to
Lotus Renault GP, though still racing as just "Renault" for that season.[18] By 2012,
Genii Capital had a majority stake in the team, and from 2012 until 2015 the team's name was
Lotus F1 Team, after its branding partner, and it raced as "Lotus".
At the end of 2015, Renault had taken over the team for a second time, renaming it to
Renault Sport Formula One Team.[19][20] The team raced as "Renault" again, from
2016, and continued as such until the end of the
2020 season.[21] When discussing the history of the organisation as a whole rather than those of specific constructors it has operated, the colloquialism "Team Enstone" is generally used.[22][23][24] The team operates in a 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft) facility on a 17-acre (6.9 ha) site in Enstone.[25] By May 2023, Alpine had approximately 1,000 personnel in Enstone and 350 in
Viry-Châtillon.[26][27]
Early Formula One involvement
The involvement of the sportscar manufacturer
Automobiles Alpine in Formula One can be traced back to
1968, when the Alpine A350 Grand Prix car was built, powered by a
Gordini V8 engine. However, after initial testing with Mauro Bianchi at
Zandvoort, the project was ended when it was found that the engine produced around 300 horsepower (220 kW) compared to the
Cosworth V8 engines' 400.[28] In
1975, the company produced the Alpine A500 prototype to test a 1.5 L V6 turbo engine for the Renault factory team which would eventually début in
1977.[29][30][31][32]
In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced their intention to use "Alpine" as their works team's new name going forward to promote the Alpine brand, and thus the team became known as the "Alpine F1 Team" whilst retiring the "Renault F1 Team" moniker after five years.[21]
In January 2022, both team principal,
Marcin Budkowski,[49][50] and non-executive director,
Alain Prost, left their roles.[51]Otmar Szafnauer, formerly of
Aston Martin F1 Team, was announced as the new team principal in the same month.[52] Former deputy secretary-general for sport at the
FIA, Bruno Famin, has been recruited as executive director of Alpine at Viry-Châtillon, responsible for power-unit development.[53] Famin had also previously led
Peugeot to three consecutive
Dakar Rally victories as head of its sporting division from 2016 to 2018, and a
Le Mans 24 Hours triumph in 2009 as technical head of its endurance program.[54]Oscar Piastri replaced
Daniil Kvyat as test driver.[55][56] In February 2022,
BWT became the title sponsor of the team, in a deal aimed at sustainability drive.[57][58]
Alonso qualified in second for the
Canadian Grand Prix, only behind Verstappen.[59] This was his best qualifying position since the
2012 German Grand Prix,[60] though he suffered an issue in the race and finished in ninth.[61]
2023 season
Alonso moved to
Aston Martin for the
2023 season because he wanted a multi-year contract extension, and Alpine was only willing to give him one more year in F1.[62][63] Alpine announced that Piastri would be replacing Alonso;[64] but Piastri immediately denied he had a contract to race with the team.[65] Team principal Szafnauer criticised Piastri, saying that Piastri should show more loyalty to Alpine,[66] and claimed that Piastri was thankful when told about his F1 promotion prior to Alpine's announcement.[67] In September 2022, a hearing of the
Contract Recognition Board determined that Alpine did not have a valid contract with Piastri[68] and was free to race with rival team
McLaren in 2023.[69] During the
2022 Japanese Grand Prix weekend the team confirmed that
Pierre Gasly has signed a multiple year contract with them starting in 2023.[70]
In July 2023,
Laurent Rossi was replaced by Philippe Krief as CEO.[71][72] During the
Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Alpine announced that Szafnauer and sporting director
Alan Permane will leave the team after the race. Chief technical officer Pat Fry will leave the team at the end of the year to join
Williams.[73][74]
Alpine finished the season sixth in the constructors' championship, while Gasly and Ocon were 11th and 12th, respectively, in the drivers' standings. The team reportedly lost about half a second per lap on average because the Renault power unit was lagging behind its rivals.[75] Without this deficit, the team could have had performance similar to that of the
Mercedes team.[75]
2024 season
Alpine retained the driver pairing of Gasly and Ocon for the
2024 season. At the
Bahrain Grand Prix, the team locked out the bottom of the grid in qualifying and finished the race in 17th and 18th.[76][77] After the race, it was announced that Alpine's technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics
Dirk de Beer had left the team,[78] with the team moving to a structure of three technical directors, with Joe Burnell overseeing engineering, David Wheater for aerodynamics and
Ciaron Pilbeam for performance.[4] A few days later, it was reported that
Bob Bell will leave his advisory role at Alpine to reunite with Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin in an operational role.[79]
After finishing out of the top ten four races later, Alpine scored their first points at the
Miami Grand Prix where Ocon finished tenth.[80] At the
Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon collided with Gasly during an overtake attempt in the first lap, resulting in the former's retirement from damage. Ocon was issued a five-place grid penalty at the
Canadian Grand Prix[81] and later apologised for his role in the incident. Team principal
Bruno Famin commented that there would be "appropriate consequences".[82] A week later, Alpine announced that Ocon will leave the team at the end of the season following his contract running out.[83]
^R. Smith "Alpine & Renault: The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968-1979."Chapter 3: The Alpine A350 Experimental Grand Prix Car, pp. 24-33
^"Alpine A500 (1975)". l'automobile ancienne (in French). 13 September 2019.
Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in the
Indianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.