Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has declared Renault’s new CEO Francois Provost wants the French marque to remain in Formula 1, despite a disappointing 2025 season.
In July, the Renault Group announced Provost as replacement for Leca de Meo, who had been with the company since 2020.
Alpine has suffered over the past few years with high-profile people within the team departing, beginning with Otmar Szafnauer, who was let go from the team after the 2023 Belgian GP.
The team struggled to find a consistent, strong replacement for Szafnauer until giving the position to Oliver Oakes.
However, he left the team in May, leaving Alpine’s executive advisor Briatore, to take up the mantle of Team Principal temporarily.
Briatore urged that this new CEO appointment will not affect the working of Alpine, despite their continuing struggles.
“The new CEO is very enthusiastic about the Formula 1 programme,” he said ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
“Renault wants to stay in Formula 1. I believe Francois is in Monza 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.”
A new direction for Alpine in F1 2026
To help bolster its future chances, Alpine made the bold decision to move away from using Renault engines, instead deciding to become a Mercedes customer from 2026.
“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.”
To help with the stability of the team, Steve Nielsen has also been brought into Alpine as the Managing Director.
Nielsen has a history with the team, leading it to its championships in 2005 and 2006 as its Sporting Director.
Briatore spoke about the introduction of Nielsen to the team, commenting on their relationship, which extends beyond his current role.
“It’s good, I’ve known Steve a long time,” added Briatore. “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 job I expect from Steve, I expect Steve to be in charge from A to Z – basically, it is what the managing director does.
“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.”
READ MORE – Flavio Briatore reveals when Alpine will decide 2026 F1 line-up
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