F1: Laurent Rossi moved out of Alpine

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, who also had responsibility for the Renault Group’s Formula 1 team (Alpine F1), has been moved aside.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Can Otmar Szafnauer be far behind?

Laurent Rossi has been replaced as CEO of Alpine after two years at the head of the car brand.

Renault CEO Luca de Meo announced earlier today that Rossi will be replaced by Philippe Krief, who was appointed as Vice President of Engineering and Product Performance earlier in the year, with immediate effect.

This change at the top arrives hot on the heels of Alpine restructuring its racing senior management set-up, with F1 engine chief Bruno Famin promoted to vice president of Alpine Motorsports.

The announcement confirms that the brand is moving into a “new phase” which still involves Rossi in a different role, looking after “special projects”. The announcement reads:

“I would like to thank Laurent for his unwavering commitment over the last two years at the helm of Alpine.

“Laurent has set out a clear and ambitious strategy for the brand. He has put Alpine in the best possible position to achieve its long-term goals. Alpine is now ready to enter a new phase of its development and to become a brand of the future.

“Philippe combines a long industry experience, great technical knowledge with the leadership qualities that are key to the success of our project, including the launch of the brand’s new vehicles starting next year. I fully trust Philippe and his team to take Alpine to new heights.”

This news comes after it was confirmed that Alpine had received a huge investment of €200 million boost from a group of investors including Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds.

The Alpine F1 team had been running in fifth position in the 2023 constructors’ championship until the British Grand Prix when McLaren’s second and fourth-place finishes saw them overtake the French team. Alpine now sits in sixth position with 47 points behind McLaren which has 59 points.