Formula 1 Alpine Team on Thursday appointed th former Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer as new team principal.
Szafnauer is a long-time Formula One insider, who previously worked with Honda before moving to the Vijay Mallya-owned Force India team.
The 57-year-old man will be joined on the organizational chart by Bruno Famin, who was director of operations at the Federation Internationale de Automobilismo (FIA), as executive director.
“With Otmar and Bruno joining the team, we move to a new level for 2022,” Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi said.
“We believe Otmar will bring his unique experience in motorsports and his uncompromising desire to win.
“While Bruno’s proven track record in building technologies that make a difference in competition and their subsequent transference to road cars is critical for our project as a sports team and as a brand.” Rossi added.
Under the supervision of its president Laurent Rossi, the ex-Renault continues its restructuring after the resignation of former executive director Marcin Budkowski and adviser Alain Prost.
“My attention is focused on preparing for the start of the season in Bahrain,” Szafnauer said.
“As one of the three car manufacturers involved in Formula One, Alpine is fully armed to achieve its ambition, I can’t wait to start the journey.” he added.
Alpine will again be represented by double world champion Fernando Alonso and F1’s newest race winner Esteban Ocon.
Alonso was the last man to guide Alpine, then going under the name of Renault, to a championship in 2006 when he beat Michael Schumacher to the title.
On the other hand, Italian Davide Brivio, former manager of the Suzuki MotoGP team, will continue as director of competition projects.
The 2022 season opens on March 20, with Bahrain providing the first venue for a record schedule of 23 Grands Prix.
