{"id":25075,"date":"2024-10-04T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=25075"},"modified":"2024-10-04T11:51:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:51:05","slug":"renault-ceo-justifies-f1-exit-alpine-has-to-make-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/10\/04\/renault-ceo-justifies-f1-exit-alpine-has-to-make-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Renault CEO justifies F1 exit: “Alpine has to make money”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In little over two years, several key aspects of Alpine F1 have changed. Drivers, team principals and technical directors are among notable departures from the Enstone squad since 2024. Alpine’s choice to stop using Renault engines by 2026<\/a> is another key shift – which has been justified by mainly\u00a0 economic factors.<\/p>\n

Finances played decisive role in ending Renault’s F1 partnership with Alpine<\/h2>\n

For many years, there was huge optimism surrounding the Renault\/Alpine project. Even big-name drivers like Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> and Fernando Alonso were convinced by their project.<\/p>\n

However, the last two years have seen Alpine plummet down the pecking order. After finishing the first season of the 2022 regulations in 4th, they are now 9th in the standings – struggling to score points.<\/p>\n

In a bid to reverse their fortunes, many changes have been considered. Three team principals have been at the helm at Alpine over the last twelve months – perhaps the most obvious example of their instability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most recently, the team concluded that continuing with Renault engines was no longer worth the trouble.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>