Bruno Famin’s position as the head of the Alpine Formula 1 team is potentially in jeopardy. Reports suggest that Alpine is preparing to replace Famin with Oliver Oakes, the founder of Hitech. Famin took over as Team Principal on an interim basis after the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix and assumed the role permanently at the beginning of this season. In addition to his role as Team Principal, Famin also serves as the Vice-President of Alpine Motorsport and leads the Viry engine division. However, after a challenging 2024 season, significant changes are on the horizon for Alpine.
The turning point for the Anglo-French team came when Luca de Meo, the CEO of Renault Group, brought Flavio Briatore back as an Advisor. Briatore has been instrumental in revolutionizing the Alpine operation, starting with the controversial decision to abandon the underperforming Renault power units produced at Viry in favor of becoming a Mercedes customer. RacingNews365 reports that Famin’s removal as Team Principal would not be surprising, based on a decision made by the Renault Board.
Despite Famin’s efforts to improve the team’s performance through a technical restructure, Alpine has struggled this season. An overweight and uncompetitive car has left them at the back of the field, and their current position in the Constructors’ standings is eighth with only nine points. This is a significant decline compared to last year when Szafnauer was dismissed and the team had 47 points.
If Famin is indeed replaced, The Race states that Oliver Oakes, the founder of Hitech, is the likely candidate to take over as Team Principal. Oakes, an Englishman with racing experience, established Hitech in 2015. The team competes in various junior Formula categories, including Formula 4, F3, and F2. While Hitech attempted to enter Formula 1 when the FIA opened the tender process in 2023, their bid was unsuccessful.
Renault has a history of divesting from its Formula 1 assets during challenging times. With the closure of Viry’s F1 power unit operation looming, Oakes’ appointment as Team Principal could be the first step towards Renault completely offloading the Alpine team.
