Laurent Rossi has left his position as Alpine CEO with immediate effect, and will be replaced by Philippe Krief. Rossi was appointed as CEO of the Alpine group in January 2021 as Renault opted to rebadge their works Formula 1 operation and oversaw Esteban Ocon's victory in Hungary later that year. However, Rossi has now left his position as CEO, being replaced by Vice President of Engineering and Product Performance Krief. Rossi has not left Alpine, and instead will focus on "special projects" in a new role.
Rossi leaves Alpine CEO role
Krief will continue to serve in his current role until a successor is appointed, having assumed Rossi's responsibilities as CEO on July 20th. He has previously worked for Michelin, the Fiat group, Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. In June 2016, Krief became Director of Engineering at Ferrari, before moving onto his current role at Alpine in February 2023. He will report directly to Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo in his role as CEO. "I would like to thank Laurent for his unwavering commitment over the last two years at the helm of Alpine," de Meo explained. "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."
Rossi's exploits
During his time at the helm of Alpine as CEO, Rossi oversaw a first race victory for the team, through Ocon in Budapest as well as Fernando Alonso's return to the podium for the first time since 2014 later in 2021 in the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix. 2022 was a positive year for the team as they impressed with fourth in the standings, but the year was overshadowed by the departure of Alonso to Aston Martin and subsequent public rejection by reserve driver Oscar Piastri of a race seat. As RacingNews365 exclusively revealed, multiple failings on Alpine's behalf led to Piastri and his management seeking a seat elsewhere with the Australian ending up at McLaren. At the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, Rossi told French TV that Alpine's start to the season had been "amateur" after a poor weekend in Azerbaijan.
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