Why Suzuki desperately needs to find Brivio's MotoGP replacement

OPINION: While Shinichi Sahara insists that Suzuki does not need a team manager following the departure of Davide Brivio, the team's performance in the early part of the 2021 MotoGP season and the sentiment of the staff suggests the opposite

Updated Aug 3, 2021, 9:52 AM

Davide Brivio's arrival as racing director at the Alpine Formula 1 team, which achieved its first victory under its new guise in Hungary last Sunday with Esteban Ocon, was announced on the eve of the MotoGP pre-season phase earlier this year and caught everyone at the Hamamatsu-based brand by surprise.

After the initial shock, the Japanese constructor's managers headed up by project leader Shinichi Sahara hastened to implement a plan. Probably due to lack of time and to avoid the remedy being worse than the disease, the decision was taken not to look outside the company to replace Brivio directly but to promote several members of its existing structure.