Alpine looking to become the "Ferrari of France" amid Tifosi support and passion

After the big managerial changes of recent weeks that led to the departure of all key figures at the top of the team, Renault’s goal, along with Luca De Meo, is to make Alpine the Ferrari of France. The dismissal of former CEO Laurent Rossi triggered a chain reaction that also involved Pat Fry, Alan Permane, and even Otmar Szafnauer, all three of whom were ousted from the top positions of the new management.

Renault CEO Luca De Meo wants to make Alpine the Ferrari of France

“The Alpine Formula 1 team will become the French Ferrari. In France, there is not yet enough passion for motorsport,” GPBlog reports the words of Renault CEO Luca De Meo.

“This is because fans don’t have a team to support, as Italy does with Ferrari. Our goal is to associate the Alpine colors with passion. We want to combine the history of our team with its colors to engage the fans more.”

The French team is going through the most complicated moment in its short history since rebranding from Renault to Alpine in 2021. The now former team principal, Otmar Szafneur, had long insisted on waiting for at least 100 races before realistically aiming for the world title.

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However, Alpine’s top management has a different vision and decided to remove the entire previous management to rebuild the project from scratch. Temporarily taking Szfanuer’s place is Bruno Famin, a figure with great experience in motorsport.

According to increasingly persistent rumors, the arrival of Mattia Binotto as the new team principal seems more and more certain. The former Scuderia Ferrari technician might even anticipate the installation schedule and debut during the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit scheduled for early September.

Regarding the role of CEO, Laurent Rossi was the first to be replaced, mainly due to derogatory remarks he made about his own team a few months ago. Philippe Krief, vice president of Engineering and Product Performance at Alpine, has taken his place, at least for now. There is no information yet about who might take on the role of technical and sports director.

The ambition of the Renault Group now is to make the Alpine brand so popular that it can be compared to the “Ferrari of France.” CEO Luca De Meo emphasized that there is not yet enough support and passion for the team. Therefore, it will be essential to make progress in the coming months and approach the top teams.