Following months of speculation, Alpine have confirmed that Otmar Szafnauer will take over as Team Principal of the Enstone-based squad. Szafnauer had been team boss of Aston Martin, having held that role from their previous guises as Force India and Racing Point, but left at the end of 2021. Alpine have been without a de facto team boss since the departure of Cyril Abiteboul in early 2021, with Marcin Budkowski assuming day-to-day leadership of the outfit in his stead. However, Budkowski himself also departed at the end of the season. Szafnauer will now assume responsibility for the running of the team, reporting to Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi and Groupe Renault CEO Luca de Meo. "I am thrilled to join BWT Alpine F1 Team and ready to get to work with everyone to achieve our challenge: bring the team to fight for the championship within the next 100 races," said Szafnauer of his new role. "My attention is focused on preparing for the start of the season in Bahrain. As one of the three car manufacturers involved in Formula 1, Alpine is fully armed to achieve its ambition; now let's get to work!"
Alpine make further changes for 2022
In addition to Szafnauer's new role, Alpine have confirmed Bruno Famin as Executive Director of Alpine Racing at their Viry-Chatillon factory. Famin will assume responsibility for pursuing the development of the Renault F1 engines, working closely with Technical Director Matt Harman on optimising the integration of the power unit and chassis. Famin rejoins the competitive side of F1 after years working with the FIA as the Deputy Sport Secretary-General. Prior to that, he worked with Peugeot's endurance team. His 15-year tenure at Peugeot yielded a Le Mans victory in 2009, as well as 24 victories from 32 entries. His other accomplishments include three consecutive Dakar rally victories between 2016 and 2018, and a World Championship win in Rallycross in 2015. "It's great to be back in competition, and even greater to join Alpine, with such ambition and unique engineering capacities," said Famin. "Viry-Chatillon is among the greatest factories one could dream of; I can't wait to join its amazing talents, and to work closely with the teams in Enstone, Dieppe and Boulogne-Billancourt." Aside from the two new appointments, Alpine have clarified Davide Brivio's position with the team for 2022. Rumours circulated during 2021 that he would depart, but Alpine have confirmed he will remain as Director of Alpine Racing.
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