Until the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
For a while, Davide Brivio, a manager who transitioned from MotoGP to Formula 1, believes that the main reason for his unsuccessful stint with Alpine F1 can be summed up in one word: “credibility”.
Brivio had joined the rebranded Renault F1 team before the 2021 season, right after his remarkable achievement in MotoGP – winning the premier-class riders’ and teams’ titles for Suzuki, a smaller-scale works team that was rebuilt from scratch. This victory ended Suzuki’s nearly two-decade wait for a MotoGP championship.
For Brivio, it was the culmination of his MotoGP career, which also included orchestrating Valentino Rossi’s high-profile move from Honda to Yamaha and the subsequent success that followed.
However, the 59-year-old Italian quickly became a peripheral figure after his switch to Alpine and four-wheeled racing. He was first shifted away from F1 responsibilities and eventually parted ways with the company altogether.
Now, as the new team boss for the Trackhouse team in the MotoGP paddock, Brivio spoke about his time with Alpine in an interview. “I’m glad, I’m very happy I had the chance to do it,” he insisted. “I would have missed it if I didn’t do it. Even if it didn’t go as I thought, as I wanted.
“But it was a great opportunity for me to look inside. And of course I also met great people, I have friends there.
“It was an interesting time. Tough in certain moments, I admit. Quite tough. But looking back I’m happy I’ve done it.
“I would try it again but maybe with this experience it would be better.”
When asked about the reasons behind his unsuccessful stint with Alpine, Brivio shared his own perspective. “Yes, I understand… not I understand, I have my own ideas.
“I arrived in Formula 1 without previous experience. So probably without that Formula 1 credibility that you need to be a certain level.
“Because, when I joined Formula 1, I was in a management level. But I didn’t have the background – in Formula 1. I did in MotoGP.
“In MotoGP I spent many years going through different roles and at the end ended up to be whatever – team manager, team principal, but with the experience.
“So when you arrive there you have the experience, you know the environment very well, you know the people and you’ve built your credibility – because if they bring you there, it’s probably because you deserved it, step by step.
“In Formula 1 I jumped there directly in a management job without this credibility.”
Brivio’s theory aligns neatly with the perception of his hire and the overall changes happening within the Alpine F1 team.
Cyril Abiteboul had just left the team as Brivio arrived, and the team was transitioning from Renault yellow to Alpine blue. Abiteboul was never directly replaced, and it appeared that his responsibilities were shared between Marcin Budkowski and Brivio.
Budkowski left a year later, and Brivio’s role changed significantly. The upheaval within the team continued, with most of the senior F1 figures leaving by the time Brivio departed at the end of 2023. Alpine’s poor start to the 2024 season has led to further changes in leadership, particularly on the technical side.
Since the takeover of Lotus in 2016, the Renault-owned team has experienced a lack of leadership stability, and the recent high turnover is not surprising. It is understandable to hear Brivio talk about a “credibility” gap.
According to most accounts, Brivio was a hire from the corporate level rather than being initiated by the race team. Therefore, it is not far-fetched to imagine that established senior F1 figures within the team had difficulty fully embracing the idea of Brivio. They may have been put off and alarmed by the prospect of an outsider with no F1 experience being brought in to fix a program that was falling behind its targets.
“Probably – I don’t know, it’s my idea! – it was more difficult to be a credible manager,” Brivio continued.
“Not with everybody, but with some key people.
“And also I probably didn’t have enough experience to be there. Maybe too high, too soon.
“But that’s a lesson I learned.
“I’m glad I learned it. So as I say, I have no regrets.
“I’m very happy I have done this experience. It could have been different, but great experience for sure.”
None of this implies that Brivio was or wasn’t capable of succeeding in F1. However, his feedback suggests that Alpine was simply not the right place or time for him to bring his expertise from MotoGP to four-wheeled grand prix racing.