The French team announced exactly one month after Sanchez’s departure from McLaren, following a technical restructuring at the Formula 1 team based in Woking after a short period that began in January. He will join the team immediately.
Alpine is going through a terrible season with an undersized and overweight car known as the A524, after a tumultuous 2023 season that saw the dismissal of Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane, as well as the departure of Pat Fry to Williams.
Sanchez has previously worked in Formula 1 with Renault and will now return to take on a “newly established role” where he will oversee the technical department located in Enstone and will be responsible for the Performance, Engineering, and Aerodynamics areas of the team.
Alpine explained in their statement: “David will oversee the three crucial areas that are part of the recently announced three-pillar technical structure, with Ciaron Pilbeam (Technical Director – Performance), Joe Burnell (Technical Director – Engineering), and David Wheater (Technical Director – Aerodynamics) all reporting to him.”
Bruno Famin, Team Principal and VP of Alpine Motorsports for the BWT Alpine F1 team, expressed his satisfaction in welcoming David back to Enstone, where he began his career in 2005. This appointment is crucial to ensure that the team optimizes all aspects of its operations and focuses on areas that will drive performance. It is clear that the car’s performance and development have not progressed at the desired pace, in line with the team’s ambitions. We look forward to David’s arrival and are committed to working together to achieve ultimate success.
David Sanchez, the Executive Technical Director of the BWT Alpine F1 team, expressed his excitement for the challenge at Alpine. He is thrilled to return to Enstone, the place where he first entered the world of Formula 1. The team has always had a wealth of talented individuals involved and clearly there is untapped potential. The task ahead of us is significant as we strive to improve performance on track, but it is exactly this kind of challenge that motivates me. I am ready to get started and look forward to collaborating with the technical teams of Enstone-Viry with the sole aim of restoring regular success to this renowned team.
