
Can Alpine’s latest F1 personnel shuffle turn the tide?
Since Renault returned to F1 as a manufacturer, barely a winter seems to have passed without a management restructure – or, indeed, a rebrand of the entire team. MARK GALLAGHER examines the latest moves at ‘Team Enstone’ as Laurent Rossi's impact begins to be felt
When Marcin Budkowski was recruited to Renault by Cyril Abiteboul in the autumn of 2017, it was not only rival teams who were unimpressed at the speed the Polish engineer was able to transition away from his previous role at the FIA.
As gamekeeper turned poacher, Budkowski’s move also came as a surprise to senior figures at Enstone, blindsided by Abiteboul’s decision to bring in someone he viewed as his own man. While competitors railed against a senior figure within the FIA being able to move seamlessly to Renault, Abiteboul insisted it was a necessary move to strength his organisation’s management, stressing that Budkowski would be joining in a “non-technical capacity”. Furthermore, it was part of a strategy to become a top team “by 2020”.
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