Laurent Rossi has been appointed as the CEO of Alpine, Renault’s performance sub-brand. He will report directly to Renault CEO, Luca de Meo.
Rossi moves into the position from his role as Group Director of Strategy and Business Development for Groupe Renault. Alpine released the mid-engine A110 sports car in 2017.
The brand is also taking over Renault’s Formula 1 team. Its team boss, Cyril Abiteboul, was named Alpine CEO in September, but will depart the team, the brand, and Renault.
Abiteboul has been in charge of the race team since 2016, when Renault returned to the sport as a factory team. His time with the team has been rocky, but has resulted in it being one of the strongest midfield teams.
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“I would like to thank the Groupe Renault for having trusted me for many years, particularly with the relaunch and reconstruction of the team since 2016,” Abiteboul said. “The solid foundations of the racing team and the entities in France and England built over these years, the strategic evolution of the sport towards a more economically sustainable model, and more recently the Alpine project which provides a renewed sense of meaning and dynamism, all point to a very fine trajectory.”
Although the Renault F1 team didn’t quite reach the heights it had hoped for, its 2020 season looked like one of its strongest and with F1 legend Fernando Alonso returning to the sport with the team in 2021, it looks set for a strong future.
“I would like to warmly thank Cyril for his tireless involvement, which notably led the Renault F1 Team from the penultimate place in 2016 to the podiums last season,” de Meo said. “His remarkable work in F1 since 2007 allows us to look to the future, with a strong team and the new Alpine F1 Team identity to conquer the podiums this year.”
The role of team principal has not been announced yet, but reports tip Marcin Budkowski for the role. Budkowski is the team’s technical director currently. Davide Brivio, Suzuki’s former MotoGP team boss, will also reportedly receive a sport within the team.