Alpine make huge changes as Anthony Joshua and Ryan Reynolds-backed Formula 1 team respond to humiliating opener
Alpine Formula 1 team have announced a series of sweeping changes in response to a humiliating season opener.
The French outfit, who are backed by a multitude of stars from the world of sport, qualified at the back of the grid at the Bahrain Grand Prix and finished Saturday’s race pointless.
Reacting to such a poor performance, technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer resigned from their roles.
Alpine have announced a three-pronged approach to replacing Harman, with three new technical director positions created in the fields of performance, aerodynamics and engineering.
Joe Burnell (engineering), David Wheater (aerodynamics) and Ciaron Pilbeam (performance) have been announced as new hires by the team, while John Woods and Audrey Vastroux have joined as chief operating officers.
Team principal Bruno Famin commented: “We have decided to make these organisational changes as we can clearly see that we are not where we want nor need to be in terms of performance level and it is time to take another step in terms of organisation and people.
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“The new three-pillared structure with three Technical Directors, each specialising in different areas, will bring better work and collaboration across our technical areas and contribute to delivering performance from the factories to the race track.
“I trust fully in the abilities of Joe, David and Ciaron to work closely together in bringing the team the performance and improvements that it needs.
“Finally, I would like to thank Matt and Dirk for their efforts over the last couple of years at the team and wish them the very best in the next chapter of their careers.â€
Alpine have capitalised on the boom of F1 by bringing in a number of huge names to invest in the team.
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Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments purchased 24 per cent of the Renault-backed squad last year and have some very recognisable part owners.
Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney backed the deal, and were later joined by golf megastar Rory McIlroy and former heavyweight boxing world champion Anthony Joshua.
NFL-winning Kansas City Chiefs duo Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce also added their investment, while footballing legend Zinedine Zidane is now an advisor.
All of those famous faces have been seen at Grand Prix over the past year, but will be hoping for a bit more competitiveness from their investment.
Despite the cash flow, things aren’t going well on track, with Alpine keen to return to the winning ways they were used to under their former guise of parent company Renault in the 2000s.
Alpine were best of the rest when they finished fourth in the constructors in 2022, but last year they dropped to sixth and this campaign things are far worse.