Flavio Briatore has confirmed Alpine F1 remains stable despite Renault’s recent CEO change. The Alpine executive adviser insisted “everyone’s happy” within the Formula 1 outfit, stressing that Renault’s leadership shift will not affect the project.
The Renault Group appointed Francois Provost as its new CEO in July after the departure of Luca de Meo. Despite this change, Briatore remains confident that the Alpine Formula 1 team will continue its work on future goals.
“The new CEO is very enthusiastic about the Formula 1 programme,” said Briatore, who led Renault to championships in 2005 and 2006.
“Renault wants to stay in Formula 1. I believe Francois is in Monza [next week] for the first race. I know him very well and really, the programme is the same.
“The chairman, [Jean-Dominique] Senard, is very supportive of Formula 1. We need better results – this is what we need for next year. But this year is very complicated for us.”
Alpine Focuses on 2026 Car Development
Alpine currently sits at the bottom of the 2025 standings after 14 rounds. The team also faced criticism last year when it ditched its in-house power unit project for 2026 to become a Mercedes customer under the new regulations.
“We put a lot of effort into the 2026 car, like Toto [Wolff] said. But it’s not easy to interpret the rules. Maybe we made a mistake by not having any steps from the beginning of the season to now, and we pay for that.
“As well, in this moment, two or three tenths, it’s 10 or 15 cars. We know we have a big handicap with power, with the engine. We hope to forget this year and be happy in 2026.
“That’s what we hope in this moment. I hope as well that the new chairman of Renault is very supportive and for the moment, in the Renault Group, there’s no drama, no change. Everybody’s happy.”
Steve Nielsen Joins as Alpine Managing Director
Alpine also confirmed the arrival of F1 veteran Steve Nielsen as managing director in July. Nielsen worked with Briatore during Renault’s title-winning years and will oversee the team’s operations.
“It’s good, I know Steve a long time,” Briatore added. “He was with me at the time of Renault and we need somebody like Steve, we need a team manager, we need somebody who knows the system, somebody who knows the people and somebody coordinating the team from A to Z.
“It is not only one one job I expect from Steve, I expect Steve to be in charge from A to Z – basically is what the managing director is doing.
“I’m happy to have Steve next week, I believe the first day is Monday and we have the first race with Steve in Monza.”
Stay tuned for all the latest Sports News, follow SportsNewsTime on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram