With Bruno Famin and Alpine F1 annoucing a decision for the Frenchman to step back from his role as the Team Principal in a few weeks, the French team is undergoing a management change yet again. It has only been a year since Famin took charge.
Famin also indicated that Alpine F1 is looking to become a customer team from 2026 onwards — the announcement of a partnership with Mercedes is expected to come soon.
When asked about why Alpine has decided to shift from a manufacturer team or engine supplier since the late 1970s, Famin explained that they needed to make a decision as quickly as possible so the development of the 2026 car can take place smoothly.
He insisted that this decision is essentially the team deciding to use the best resources available to them, for better performance.
“Because we are at a very specific crossroads where the project for developing the Alpine brand is now very concrete, very clear. We know the resources needed for developing it.
“And on the other hand, we know that for the 2026 car generation in Formula 1, it’s now that the chassis regulations have been published a few weeks ago. It’s now that we have to decide, because again, the guy designing the chassis needs to know with which PU they are going to use.
“It’s not why before, it’s because now the question at the Alpine brand point of view is how do we use in the best possible way for developing the brand the resources we have.”
This transformation from a manufacturer team to a customer one comes along with performance advantages to the car. The integration process is vital to performance. Famin expressed with the progress of this new chapter in Alpine’s story that he would want to shift the dynamics between Viry and Alpine.
The question then arises of sacrificed performance potential from both Renault and Alpine’s ends — an indirect confirmation of the increasing triviality of Formula One success.
Famin awas asked whether this decision comes from a point of preparation — devising a move towards selling the team in near future.
“There is a bit of potential in developing the integration, but it’s quite theoretical at the end of the story, because now all the PU manufacturers are working very closely, very early in the project with the teams, and all the integration are incredibly optimised,” Famin stated.
“And if we take a Ferrari or Mercedes engine, I’m quite convinced that all the integration, all the packaging will be already very, very good.”
Famin categorically refused any suggestions of selling the racing team.
“Then to answer the question, no, the Formula 1 project remains a key project for the Alpine brand. It’s thanks to Formula 1 that we want to develop the brand awareness globally.
“That remains, but the project is just reallocating the resources to develop the brand better always based on the pillar of motorsport and mainly Formula 1 to develop the awareness.”
Later Famin was asked whether French unions could lead to any unprecedented delays in annoucing the new engine partnership.
“It’s the French labour law, which are a bit strict, to correct, if I was not correct enough the first time,” Famin corrected.
He further stated that he does not expect any unforeseen delays to a possible annoucement, confirming every current employee will be offered something.
“No, I don’t expect any delay. The process will take some weeks and it will be quite fast anyway. We are following all the mandatory steps and there is no reason not to make it properly.
“A very important thing in the project which has been presented: every single employee will be offered a job. There is no redundancy at all. And we are doing everything to make potentially, because again, it’s still a project, but if it’s confirmed, to make a very difficult moment as less painful as possible. But we know it’s never easy, this kind of thing.”
