Enstone, Oxfordshire, England (Chassis design and assembly) Viry-Châtillon, France (Engine 2021–2025)
Teamprincipal(s)
Oliver Oakes (Team Principal)[2] Philippe Krief (Chief Executive Officer)[3]
Technical director
David Sanchez (Executive Technical Director) Joe Burnell (engineering) David Wheater (aerodynamics) Ciaron Pilbeam (performance)[4] Eric Meignan (power unit)[5]
Alpine F1 Team, currently racing asBWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons,[9] is the name under which theEnstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the2021 Formula One World Championship.[10] Formerly namedRenault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive companyGroupe Renault as well asRenault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand,Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault'sworks team,[11] a position the team will keep until Renault pulls out of Formula One after 2025.[12] The chassis and managerial side of the team is based inEnstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based inViry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with aFrench licence.[13]
The team has a long history, first competing in Formula One in1981 asToleman, when the team was based inWitney, England.[14] In1986, following its purchase byBenetton Group, it was renamed and competed asBenetton. As Benetton, it won the1995 Constructors' Championship and its driver,Michael Schumacher, won two Drivers' Championships in1994 and1995.[15] Prior to the1992 season it moved to its current location inEnstone, UK.[16]
By the2000 season,Renault had purchased the team (for the first time), and by the2002 season its name was changed toRenault F1 Team, and it was racing as Renault.[17] Renault won the Constructors' Championship in2005 and2006 and its driver,Fernando Alonso won the Drivers' Championships in the same two years.[18] In2011,Lotus Cars came on board as a sponsor, and the team's name changed toLotus Renault GP, though still racing as just "Renault" for that season.[19] By 2012,Genii Capital had a majority stake in the team, and from 2012 until 2015 the team's name wasLotus F1 Team, after its branding partner, and it raced as "Lotus".
At the end of 2015, Renault had taken over the team for a second time, renaming it toRenault Sport Formula One Team.[20][21] The team raced as "Renault" again, from2016, and continued as such until the end of the2020 season.[22] When discussing the history of the organisation as a whole rather than those of specific constructors it has operated, the colloquialism "Team Enstone" is generally used.[23][24][25] The team operates in a 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft) facility on a 17-acre (6.9 ha) site in Enstone.[26] By May 2023, Alpine had approximately 1,000 personnel in Enstone and 350 inViry-Châtillon.[27][28]
The involvement of the sportscar manufacturerAutomobiles Alpine in Formula One can be traced back to1968, when the Alpine A350 Grand Prix car was built, powered by aGordini V8 engine. However, after initial testing with Mauro Bianchi atCircuit Zandvoort, the project was ended when it was found that the engine produced around 300 horsepower (220 kW) compared to theCosworth V8 engines' 400.[29] In1975, the company produced the Alpine A500 prototype to test a 1.5 L V6 turbo engine for the Renault factory team which would eventually début in1977.[30][31][32][33]
In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced their intention to use "Alpine" as their works team's new name going forward to promote the Alpine brand, and thus the team became known as the "Alpine F1 Team" whilst retiring the "Renault F1 Team" moniker after five years.[22]
Alpine's first race ended with Alonso being forced to retire, after debris caused his car to overheat.[44] Ocon was hit byAston Martin driver,Sebastian Vettel.[45] Despite a disappointing start, Alpine scored in the next fifteen races,[46] including a victory for Ocon at the2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.[47]
In January 2022, both team principal,Marcin Budkowski,[50][51] and non-executive director,Alain Prost, left their roles.[52]Otmar Szafnauer, formerly ofAston Martin F1 Team, was announced as the new team principal in the same month.[53] Former deputy secretary-general for sport at theFIA, Bruno Famin, has been recruited as executive director of Alpine at Viry-Châtillon, responsible for power-unit development.[54] Famin had also previously ledPeugeot to three consecutiveDakar Rally victories as head of its sporting division from 2016 to 2018, and aLe Mans 24 Hours triumph in 2009 as technical head of its endurance program.[55]Oscar Piastri replacedDaniil Kvyat as test driver.[56][57] In February 2022,BWT became the title sponsor of the team, in a deal aimed at sustainability drive.[58][59]
Alonso qualified in second for theCanadian Grand Prix, only behind Verstappen.[60] This was his best qualifying position since the2012 German Grand Prix,[61] though he suffered an issue in the race and finished in ninth.[62]
Alonso moved toAston Martin for the2023 season because he wanted a multi-year contract extension, and Alpine was only willing to give him one more year in F1.[63][64] Alpine announced that Piastri would be replacing Alonso;[65] but Piastri immediately denied he had a contract to race with the team.[66] Team principal Szafnauer criticised Piastri, saying that Piastri should show more loyalty to Alpine,[67] and claimed that Piastri was thankful when told about his F1 promotion prior to Alpine's announcement.[68] In September 2022, a hearing of theContract Recognition Board determined that Alpine did not have a valid contract with Piastri[69] and was free to race with rival teamMcLaren in 2023.[70] During the2022 Japanese Grand Prix weekend the team confirmed thatPierre Gasly has signed a multiple-year contract with them starting in 2023.[71]
In July 2023,Laurent Rossi was replaced by Philippe Krief as CEO.[72][73] During theBelgian Grand Prix weekend, Alpine announced that Szafnauer and sporting directorAlan Permane will leave the team after the race. Chief technical officer Pat Fry will leave the team at the end of the year to joinWilliams.[74][75]
Alpine finished the season sixth in the constructors' championship, while Gasly and Ocon were 11th and 12th, respectively, in the drivers' standings. The team reportedly lost about half a second per lap on average because the Renault power unit was lagging behind its rivals.[76] Without this deficit, the team could have had performance similar to that of theMercedes team.[76]
Alpine retained the driver pairing of Gasly and Ocon for the2024 season. At theBahrain Grand Prix, the team locked out the bottom of the grid in qualifying and finished the race in 17th and 18th.[77][78] After the race, it was announced that Alpine's technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamicsDirk de Beer had left the team,[79] with the team moving to a structure of three technical directors, with Joe Burnell overseeing engineering, David Wheater for aerodynamics andCiaron Pilbeam for performance.[4] A few days later, it was reported thatBob Bell will leave his advisory role at Alpine to reunite with Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin in an operational role.[80] On 2 May,David Sanchez, who had left McLaren a month earlier, was signed as executive technical director.[81] In May 2024, Alpine announced the controversial return ofFlavio Briatore to the team as a executive advisor. He previously worked atTeam Enstone as team principal from 2000 to 2009, having previously resigned due to arace-fixing scandal.[82]
After finishing out of the top ten four races later, Alpine scored their first points at theMiami Grand Prix where Ocon finished tenth.[83] At theMonaco Grand Prix, Ocon collided with Gasly during an overtake attempt in the first lap, resulting in the former's retirement from damage. Ocon was issued a five-place grid penalty at theCanadian Grand Prix[84] and later apologised for his role in the incident. Team principalBruno Famin commented that there would be "appropriate consequences".[85] A week later, Alpine announced that Ocon will leave the team at the end of the season following his contract running out.[86] During theBelgian Grand Prix weekend, Alpine announced that team principal Bruno Famin would leave his role as team principal. Famin is set to move toRenault's mainline motorsports divisions.[87] Famin's position was taken byOliver Oakes from theDutch Grand Prix onwards.[88] Alpine scored a double podium at the2024 São Paulo Grand Prix with Ocon finishing second and Gasly third behind only race winner and defending drivers championMax Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, a result which moved Alpine from ninth to sixth in the Constructors' Championship ahead of the Haas, RB and Williams teams with three rounds remaining. This marked"Team Enstone's" first double podium under the Alpine name and their first double double under any name since the2013 Korean Grand Prix when the team was known asLotus F1.[89][90]
The day after theQatar Grand Prix—where Gasly finished 5th and Ocon DNFed due to a crash on the first lap—it was announced that Ocon would be released from the team early, prior to his scheduled move toHaas in 2025. In his place,Jack Doohan, who was already signed for the team in 2025, made an early debut for the last round of the season at the2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[91]
For2025, Gasly will be retained by the team for what will be Alpine's last season with a works Renault power unit.Jack Doohan, who has served as the teams' reserve driver in previous seasons will be promoted to a full time race drive replacingEsteban Ocon who will joinHaas.[92] Four drivers were selected to replace Doohan as test and reserve driver for the 2025 season, includingPaul Aron,Franco Colapinto,Ryō Hirakawa, andKush Maini.[93][94][95][96]
In place ofBP andCastrol, with both teams leaving Alpine after eight years to supply fuels and lubricants to the impendingAudi entry,Eni andValvoline joined the team as official suppliers.
On 30 September 2024, owing to lack of strong results with its power unit during the V6 turbo-hybrid era since it began in2014,Renault announced it would be ending its engine programme following the conclusion of the2025 championship and would not be making engines for the new2026 regulations.[97] This means Alpine will lose its status as a works team and become a customer team ofMercedes.[98] Alpine will utilise Mercedes engines and gearboxes from the 2026 season onwards.[99]
^R. Smith"Alpine & Renault: The Development of the Revolutionary Turbo F1 Car 1968-1979."Chapter 3: The Alpine A350 Experimental Grand Prix Car, pp. 24-33
^"Alpine A500 (1975)".l'automobile ancienne (in French). 13 September 2019.Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved14 January 2021.
Although World Championship races held in 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two regulations, constructors who only participated during this period are included herein to maintain Championship continuity. Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in theIndianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.
Jack Doohan[6][7]
Pierre Gasly[8]
Franco Colapinto
Paul Aron
Ryō Hirakawa
Kush Maini.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
Fabrizio Donoso Delgado
Patrik Sipos
Filip Prešnajder
Luke Smith
Rubén Pedreño
Joni Törmälä
Piotr Stachulec
