Famin stepping down as Alpine team principal 12 months after ousting Szafnauer

Alpine is changing its team principal for the third time in four years.

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The team confirmed Bruno Famin will step down from the role of team principal at the end of next month. It has not yet named his replacement.

Famin will remain in charge of the rest of Alpine’s motorsport programme. He took control of the team a year ago, replacing Otmar Szafnauer, who had only assumed his role at the team in March 2022. His predecessor Davide Brivio only held the position for little more than a year.

The change in Famin’s role comes as Renault prepares to reallocate staff from its F1 power unit division in Viry-Chatillon to work on other projects for Alpine’s road car division.

“For the latter year, I’ve been doubling my activities with, one, the [vice president of] motorsport role, where I am managing Viry-Chatillon, with all the endurance, Dakar and Formula E projects we are managing there. And on top of that, acting as the managing director of BWT Alpine F1 team.

“Considering the stakes of the new project I was just mentioning about Viry, I think it will be much more useful for the company to dedicate my time, to concentrate my time to the Viry activities. I mean all the other motorsport activities and to the transformation project, if it’s confirmed, because it will be a huge impact on all the Viry people.”

Alpine has endured a turbulent 12 months during which time it has lost several senior figures. Sporting director Alan Permane, who had been with the team for decades, left when Szafnauer departed, eventually joining RB. Chief technical officer Pat Fry also departed, moving to Williams.

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The team made a poor start to this season and initially had the slowest car in the field. Technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer stepped down as a result, and Famin reorganised the team’s technical department into three divisions with different leaders. Alpine then hired David Sanchez in May, following his brief spell with McLaren at the beginning of the year, to take charge as executive technical director.

The team’s performance improved earlier in the year and they collected enough points to move up to eighth in the standings. However they remain on course for their worst result in a championship since owner Renault returned as a full constructor in 2016. Esteban Ocon will leave the team at the end of the year but Pierre Gasly has extended his contract to drive for them.

Rumours persist that Alpine will wind up its F1 engine division and switch to use Mercedes customer power units in 2026, when new technical regulations are introduced.

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21 comments on “Famin stepping down as Alpine team principal 12 months after ousting Szafnauer”

Matt Dickens (@tsmv)
26th July 2024, 15:30

He accomplished his one goal… getting a sweet new Alpine hospitality motorhome.
1. Nick T.
  27th July 2024, 2:46
  
  The new motorhome is sweet.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
26th July 2024, 15:39

Good lord.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
26th July 2024, 15:43

Not Briatore?!… it’s a madhouse.
1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
  26th July 2024, 16:22
  
  Why not? Let’s add some oil to the fire!
2. Nick T.
  27th July 2024, 2:50
  
  If Famin hadn’t been awful in the role and Renault hadn’t hired Briatore and give him carte blanche to make sweeping changes, I’d be rolling my eyes and saying what a clown show. However, given the fact that Renault and Briatore are basically changing the entire way they’re going to approach F1and all in ways that make sense to me, I think it’s better to think of this as a whole new team being launched rather than the same old people just firing staff left and right.
pastaman
26th July 2024, 15:56

Hey, they still got all those celebrity investors so all must be well.
Retired (@jeff1s)
26th July 2024, 16:00

The least charismatic of all, if for Eric Boullier back in the days !
Good lord Im glad I won’t see and hear him again.
Alesici
26th July 2024, 16:04

So he fired everyone decent and then fired himself. Good riddance…

His replacement surely can’t be any worse. The only one worse in F1 history was… hmm… Flavio Briatore… Oh noooo!
1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
  26th July 2024, 19:39
  
  Hey, briatore is actually a good team principal, that’s what renault needs.
2. Nick T.
  27th July 2024, 2:52
  
  You mean their best TP. What you think of his character is a separate issue.
MichaelN
26th July 2024, 16:05

Seems more and more likely they will sell before long.
1. SteveP
  26th July 2024, 18:10
  
  Seems more and more likely they will sell before long.
  
  Oooh an opportunity for Andretti.
  They already have a stopgap PU to cover until Cadillac manage to produce something, some auto manufacturer called Renault.
  Ah, that’s a problem, isn’t it?
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
26th July 2024, 16:16

Seidl in?
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
26th July 2024, 16:21

C’est incroyable! Pourquoi Famin?

Did they run out of people to fire?
1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
  26th July 2024, 19:40
  
  I guess that might be a possibility given all I’ve read about renault in recent times.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 17:00

New engine, new team, absurdly talented young driver poached from under the noses of the other teams, two world championships and the retirement of Alonso, Lewis, Max and Lando… can lightning strike three times for Flavio? Does he want the job?
1. An Sionnach
  26th July 2024, 17:04
  
  If Max stays at Red Bull and they are nowhere in 2026, with Mercedes being a killer engine, Flavio will know what to do…
  1. SteveP
    26th July 2024, 18:05
    
    If Max stays at Red Bull and they are nowhere in 2026, with Mercedes being a killer engine, Flavio will know what to do…
    
    But surely he’d need a crash prone driver? Ah, Gasly is secure in the seat…
    1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      26th July 2024, 19:42
      
      Only renault could possibly have such a requirement for their drivers!
Nick T.
27th July 2024, 3:00

You forgot to mention the legendary Bob Bell, former technical director of Renault, leaving for Aston Martin this year. However, like I said above, I think we need to look at post-Briatore moves very differently than if this were just the team continuing to fire people without any clear plan. It’s clear they now have a big picture plan for what they’re trying to do. And, after all, let’s remember Famin was an engine guy and they’re becoming an engine customer.