Behind the Livery: Alpine

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/msgvvLPOe34

Team History

Alpine F1 Team, formerly known as Renault, made its rebranded debut in 2021. The team is still owned by Renault. The team, when it was Renault, was founded in 1976 and joined Formula One™ in 1977.

Team Ownership

Philippe Krief is Alpine’s CEO. Otmar Szaufner was the previous Team Principal, who was fired in the middle of the 2023 season. Bruno Famin has taken the role of Team Principal, but there is no new official Team Principal as of right now. Eric Meignan, a former Mercedes, and Ferrari stalwart is Alpine’s new technical director. Ciaron Pilbeam is the Chief Engineer. This 2023 season, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, and Michael B. Jordan combined have invested $220 million (£171 million), and now own 24% of the Alpine F1 Team.

Team Name and Identity

The logo consists of a slanted, sharp-looking, capital “A,” with the slash in the center representing a road. The team colors include dark blue, lighter blue, white, and red. On their 2023 liveries, there were 2 different color patterns. One design, the regular livery, had blue, white, and pink, with blue taking up most of the coloration on the livery. The second livery was all pink, besides some accent colors like black, light blue, and white, and the colors of logos, like the BWT, and Castrol logos.

Technical Partnerships

Technical Partners of the Alpine F1 Team include Delphi, Eurodatacar, K-way, Shamir, and Yahoo. Alpine continues to run the Renault F1 engines.

Driver Lineup

In 2021 and 2022 the drivers consisted of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. At the end of the 2022 season, Fernando Alonso left to join Aston Martin for the 2023 season, making the 2023 driver lineup Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly, and will remain those two for the 2024 season as well.

Team Achievements

Under the rebranded name Alpine, in 2021 they got their maiden win, thanks to the outstanding driver from Esteban Ocon at the Hungarian Grand Prix™. Through the few years they’ve been known as Alpine, they’ve gotten 1 victory, 4 podiums, and a total of 448 points.

Team Culture and Values

They value diverse and inclusive cultures and inspire younger generations of talent. They use additive manufacturing, using 3D printing machines to make some parts for exhaust systems, aerodynamics, hydraulics, cooling, and more.

Team Headquarters and Facilities

The factory for Alpine is in Enstone, UK. Alpine has a wind tunnel and other facilities they use for the development of their liveries.

Rivalries

The team’s biggest rival this season was Aston Martin, always fighting each other to protect their spot on the grid. The same goes for Alpine with McLaren and Williams.

Technical Innovations

A major technical innovation with Alpine is using additive manufacturing, using 3D printing to make parts for their liveries, to make the care more lightweight.

Sponsorships and Partnerships

Their team sponsor is BWT, which is short for “best water technology” and is a big sponsor. Other sponsors and partners the team has are Castrol, Renault E-Tech, bp Ultimate, Microsoft, Xbox, Amazon Music, Qatar Airways, Yahoo, Delphi, Pirelli, Alpine Eyewear, and more. These partners and sponsors help make the team what it is.

Season-by-Season Performance

The rebranded team’s debut in 2021, they did well and got their maiden win and finished 5th in the constructors’ championship™. In 2022 they did better and moved up to 4th in the championship but didn’t earn any wins. This season, 2023, their third year as a team, is their worst year yet, no wins, and moved down to 6th in the championship.

Team Principal and Management

There is currently no official Team Principal, after Otmar Szafnauer’s departure in the middle of the 2023 season. Eric Meignan is Alpine’s new technical director and Ciaron Pilbeam is the Chief Engineer.

Fan Base and Support

The team has fans who support them, and the Formula One™ community, all around the world. The team has 3.1 million followers on Instagram.

Future Prospects

The team continues to work on their chassis, and other developments on the livery to help them make it to the top.

Notable Moments and Controversies

Hungarian Grand Prix™ of 2021, they got their maiden win thanks to Esteban Ocon. A well-known controversy of the team is when in August of 2022, Fernando was leaving Alpine, and Alpine put out an announcement that Oscar Piastri would be driving for them in the 2023 season, but just a couple hours later Oscar Piastri, McLaren Driver (not known at the time), tweeted “This is wrong, and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year (2023).”

Team's Contribution to F1

The Alpine F1 team has contributed to Formula One™, remaining in the midfield on the grid, and bringing new technical innovations to the grid.

Trivia and Fun Facts

• Called “Alpine” to promote Renault’s sports car brand, Alpine.

• Only have one win.

• Have an all-French driver line up.