Flavio Briatore has played down concerns over Luca de Meo’s departure, insisting the exit means “nothing” for the Alpine Formula 1 team’s future.
His comments come amid growing fears that recent struggles on track could be causing lasting damage to Alpine’s brand reputation.
The Enstone-based outfit is rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Standings after 10 rounds of the 2025 season.
Pierre Gasly has managed to score points here and there, but it hasn’t been enough to lift Alpine into the midfield battle.
Frequent driver changes have added to the instability: Jack Doohan was replaced by Franco Colapinto after six races, yet neither has found the points this season so far.
Renault CEO de Meo announced his resignation following the Canadian Grand Prix, marking the latest high-profile departure amid ongoing struggles both on and off the track.
Despite the upheaval, executive advisor Briatore insists the team remains unaffected, insisting it’s business as usual at Alpine.
When Reuters asked if de Meo’s departure would cause disruption, the Italian was clear: “Nothing, absolutely nothing.”
“Nothing has changed for me – neither for me nor for the team – and congratulations to Luca on his new position.”
But not everyone shares Briatore’s optimism. Nico Rosberg expressed serious concerns about Alpine’s ongoing struggles and the impact on the team’s reputation.
“We know how important stability is for the performance of a team,” Rosberg told the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Show.
“So Alpine… When I was at Mercedes and we were driving around last place, they were almost going to pull the plug every weekend because they’re paying a lot of money and it’s anti-marketing, it’s marketing that is damaging the brand of Alpine and Renault if you’re just driving around in last place.”
Leadership instability and industry challenges threaten Alpine’s future
The 2016 World Champion also pointed to instability in leadership as a major factor that can derail a team’s progress, using Ferrari as a cautionary example.
He added: “It’s one of the weaknesses of Ferrari also who’ve had a lack of stability as well—changing a lot of leadership positions all the time in the last years compared with someone like Mercedes, where if I walk into Mercedes today, the leaders from my time 15 years ago are still there in most of the key roles.
“It’s really awesome to see that continuity, and at the same time, there’s young talent coming through as well to complement.”
Beyond team dynamics, Rosberg highlighted the wider challenges Alpine faces amid a shifting automotive landscape.
“Also in the face of the challenging environment for the automotive industry, where sales are plummeting,” he added.
“The shift to e-mobility is a struggle; the Chinese are coming and conquering more and more market share. Tesla is taking market share.
“The first thing that you cut is marketing budget, and marketing the F1 team falls under marketing budget.
“So we need to keep an eye on that now with new leadership, whether he’s pro-F1 or against F1, but [it is] a difficult situation.”
READ MORE – Pierre Gasly calls for unity at Alpine amid continued unrest
