Alpine decides against having official F1 team principal for 2021
Alpine’s Formula 1 squad will run without an official team principal this year, with the outfit electing to split responsibilities across a senior management duo.
The rebranding of the outfit from Renault over the winter culminated in a management overhaul, with former team boss Cyril Abiteboul leaving the French manufacturer.
As part of a new organisation imposed by Alpine’s road car CEO Laurent Rossi, there will be no direct replacement for Abiteboul.
PLUS: How Alpine's cure to 2021 F1 rules starts at the front
Instead, his former responsibilities will be split between executive director Marcin Budkowski, and new racing director Davide Brivio.
Rossi said the areas of responsibility for both men were clear, as he felt there was no need to make any further changes after last season.
“Marcin will be in charge of the development of the chassis and the powertrain, so he'll coordinate the whole development of the car,” explained Rossi. “Davide will be racing director.
“So the two of them will work in tandem to extract the best out of the car, that has been designed to put us into the best position in the future.
“The rest of the team are keeping their existing line structures: to Marcin in Enstone or to myself in Viry.
"It is a bit of a different situation because it's a new manufacturer if you will, but besides those two lines that I said, the rest stays like it was last year.”
Marcin Budkowski, Renault F1 Team in the press conference
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Budkowski said that, although it is unusual for teams to steer clear of having a designated single boss, he believed the situation could work well.
“We went for a slightly different structure than the conventional team structure,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the roles and the responsibilities are clear - it's just we are calling them a little bit differently.
“We're a French team at the end, and we had to put a bit of a French touch in the organisational structure as well!”
The twin structure will, however, allow Budkowski to step back from needing to attend every race in 2021, as preparations are intensified for the new F1 rules era from 2022.
“Managing a team and going to all races is very, very difficult,” he said.
“For me, it’s personally great to have Davide on board, apart from all the skills he brings from his other motorsport experiences. It means I won’t have to go to all the races.
“It means I will probably do the majority of them, but probably start skipping a few in the second half of the season.
"We have somebody in Davide who has got a lot of trackside experience, a lot of soft skills, acquired as a team manager in other categories.
“He knows how to manage drivers, he knows how to motivate them, he knows how to organise a garage.
"It’s going to be a great contribution to have him there, and we can share the role and really make sure that we don’t leave anything without the attention that it requires.”
Bottas looking to be "a bit more selfish" in 2021 F1 title bid
Wolff: F1 needs to try sprint races despite inevitable controversy
The five factors behind Sainz winning a British GP he’d twice lost
Formula 1 has a newest race winner, in a grand prix the victor appeared to have lost twice, only to charge back to headline a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix. From a massive start crash to a late sprint finish, here’s how five factors saw Carlos Sainz take his maiden grand prix win
Why there was no case to answer in Aston’s latest F1 copycat saga
The appearance of a revised Aston Martin in Spain caused controversy but PAT SYMONDS explains why the FIA investigation found the Silverstone team had no case to answer
Why it's Red Bull that really leads a three-way fight so far at Silverstone
After a slow start to Friday at Silverstone, all the Formula 1 teams had to effectively cram in a day’s worth of practice into one hour. But there was still plenty to learn and while Ferrari topped the times, a three-way battle is brewing ahead of the British Grand Prix
Why the future is bright for the British GP
It wasn’t so long ago the situation looked bleak at Silverstone with the future of the British Grand Prix under threat. But a transformation has seen it restored to one of the most important races on the Formula 1 calendar, with bigger and better to come
Could mixed fortunes for F1's leading Brits turn around at Silverstone?
For the first time in many years, none of the local racers starts among the favourites for the British Grand Prix. But George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could have reasons for optimism
Verstappen exclusive: Why F1’s champion isn’t fazed by Silverstone return
Max Verstappen is the world’s number one racing driver… and he’s determined to keep it that way. Speaking exclusively to GP Racing's OLEG KARPOV, the Red Bull driver explains why he’s relishing the 2022 championship battle with Charles Leclerc – and why he’s not worried about returning to Silverstone, the scene of the biggest accident of his career last year
Why Red Bull’s RB17 hypercar can help its F1 team
On Tuesday, Red Bull laid out its plans to develop and build a new hypercar - the RB17 - penned by Adrian Newey. As the project itself sates Newey as a creative outlet, it also offers Red Bull's Formula 1 team a number of new and exciting avenues to pursue
What to expect from Mercedes as F1 returns to Silverstone
OPINION: The British Grand Prix is a home event for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with their Mercedes team based just a few miles away too. But there’s another reason why the Silver Arrows squad is eager to arrive at Silverstone this weekend, which may help it fix its remaining problems with its 2022 Formula 1 challenger