The future of the Alpine Formula 1 team is reportedly uncertain as rumors suggest that the parent company Renault may consider selling the team due to its poor performance. Alpine has had a disappointing 2024 season so far, failing to score any points and fielding a car that is considered one of the weakest in the field. This is not the standard expected of a fully-fledged works team, and the rebranding of the F1 team in 2021 to promote the Alpine sportscar brand has only added to the marketing challenges. Speculation started circulating in the Suzuka paddock that Alpine could be up for sale, but with the condition that any potential buyer must use Renault as a power unit supplier. The Enstone-based team has always been closely associated with the Viry-based engine facility, particularly during the periods when Renault Group owned them. However, Alpine has denied the rumors, stating that the team is not for sale. Despite this, considering the turbulent period Alpine has experienced in the past year, a sale would not be surprising, especially if an external team is eager to enter the F1 scene. As the team failed to meet its goal of challenging the top teams in 2023 and instead found themselves in the middle of the pack, Alpine made significant changes to its leadership, parting ways with former CEO Laurent Rossi, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, and long-standing senior figures Alan Permane and Pat Fry before the end of the European leg of the season.
Bruno Famin has taken over the team’s control, but Alpine’s lackluster start to the season resulted in the departure of Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
In place of Harman, a three-pronged technical structure similar to McLaren’s approach has been implemented, with Joe Burnell (engineering), Ciaron Pilbeam (performance), and David Wheather (aerodynamics) all reporting to Famin.
Additionally, long-standing team member and Advisor Bob Bell left to join Aston Martin as its new Executive Director.
The team’s off-track upheaval and poor performance on the track will not sit well with Renault or the F1 team’s new group of US investors, including sporting and film stars, who bought a €200 million stake in the squad last summer, valuing it at €800.
If Renault decides to sell, these US-based investors may turn to Andretti to take over the team’s position.
Michael Andretti has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to enter the F1 grid, including a failed takeover of Sauber in 2022 and a rejected team bid approved by the FIA last year.
Nevertheless, Andretti, whose team was initially set to be an Alpine engine customer before partnering with General Motors, has continued to build his F1 efforts and recently acquired a site in Silverstone to pursue his F1 dream.
Rather than dividing the profitable pie that has been collectively earned through the financial challenges of Covid, FOM and F1 teams prefer to maintain the current business model.
Thus, the preferred method for a new team to enter is by purchasing an existing team’s place on the grid, aligning with F1’s shift towards a US Sport-inspired franchise model under Liberty Media.
If rumors are true, Andretti is likely to secure Alpine’s spot on the F1 grid, providing Renault with a substantial sum of money to soften the blow of another F1 exit, granting Andretti the coveted spot within the series, and allowing the remaining teams to maintain their share of the prize fund.
Everyone emerges as a winner.