BWT Alpine F1 Team fortifies its management structure for challenges of new era of F1

BWT Alpine F1 Team is delighted to announce the appointment of OtmarSzafnauer to the role of Team Principal and Bruno Famin as Executive Directorof Alpine Racing in Viry-Châtillon, both reporting to Laurent Rossi, CEO ofAlpine. As detailed in November 2021, this new organization is set to optimizethe team’s performance as it prepares for the new technical regulationsintroduced from 2022. The arrival of two highly experienced and recognizedmotorsports professionals confirms BWT Alpine F1 Team’s ambition, defined byLuca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, and Laurent Rossi, to fight for thechampionship within 100 races of the introduction of the new regulations.

As Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer will lead BWT Alpine F1 Team inEnstone and at the races over the season. Otmar is one of the most talented andrespected Formula 1 managers and will bring his 33 years of experience inmotorsport to the team. His objective will be to manage BWT Alpine F1 Team inconsistently delivering all aspects of Alpine’s performance includingengineering and race management. Otmar will also help the team get the best outof Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso’s talents.

After beginning his career as an engineer with Ford Motor Company, Otmararrived in F1 in 1998 with British American Racing as Operations Directorbefore joining Honda as Vice President of its F1 programme. He has consistentlyproved his talent to fully exploit a team’s potential during his differenttenures. At Force India, he led the team from last in the Constructors’Championship to a solid fourth position, despite having the lowest budget andnumber of employees in the paddock. He also led Racing Point to their first winand fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship in only their secondseason, and Aston Martin to their first-ever podium in F1.

Bruno Famin will bring his unique experience in motorsport to Alpine,with the mission to pursue the development of Alpine’s Formula 1 engine, and tomaximize the transfers of technologies from Formula 1 to Alpine cars. Bruno andthe technical team of Viry-Châtillon will put in place measures and structuresto ensure the Enstone chassis team has a Power Unit able to race competitivelyunder the new regulations.

Most recently Deputy Sport Secretary-General at the FIA, Bruno showed histalent over more than 15 years at Peugeot, where he led the Endurance team’stechnical programme, culminating in the Peugeot 908 victory in Le Mans in 2009,and 24 victories over 32 races, before he became Director of Peugeot Sport in2012. Tasked with relaunching Peugeot’s sports programme, he proved his talentto develop cutting-edge technologies to drive cars towards victory, leading toa record at Pike’s Peak in 2013, a Teams’ World Championship in Rallycross in2015, and three consecutive victories in the Dakar between 2016 and 2018. Healso oversaw Peugeot’s sports vehicle conception, proving his capacity to bringperformance-driven technologies, initially designed for competition, toproduction vehicles.

Davide Brivio, who joined the team in 2021, will continue delivering hisunrivaled capacity to identify and develop young potential as Director ofRacing Expansion Projects, overseeing participation in all racing categories,including the Alpine Academy. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon’s relationshipwas key to Alpine’s performance in 2021 and Davide will aim to foster this teamspirit in all racing categories. Within his mission Davide will also be incharge of identifying, developing and bringing to life projects around newopportunities for Alpine within the world of motorsport and to explore newterritories to foster Alpine’s development in the sport.

LaurentRossi, CEO of Alpine, commented: “With Otmar and Bruno joining theteam, we move to a new level for 2022. Otmar will bring his unique experiencein motorsports and his uncompromising desire to win, while Bruno’s proven trackrecord in building technologies that make a difference in competition and theirsubsequent transference to road cars is critical for our project as a sportsteam and as a brand. Over the past year I have seen Davide’s talent to identifythe best in people, and to make them perform as well as they can. I amdelighted to utilize this unique skill across all existing Alpine assets andnew ones we are just starting to explore. Our band of racers is complete andready to bring the team towards its ambitious objectives in 2022.”

OtmarSzafnauer, Team Principal of BWT Alpine F1 Team, added: “I am thrilledto join BWT Alpine F1 Team and ready to get to work with everyone to achieveour challenge: bring the team to fight for the Championship within the next 100races. My attention is focused on preparing for the start of the season inBahrain. As one of the three car manufacturers involved in Formula 1, Alpine isfully armed to achieve its ambition, I can’t wait to start the journey!”

BrunoFamin, Executive Director of Alpine Racing, said: “It’s great to beback in competition, and even greater to join Alpine, with such ambition andunique engineering capacities. Viry-Châtillon is among the greatest factoriesone could dream of, I can’t wait to join its amazing talents, and to workclosely with the teams in Enstone, Dieppe, Les Ulis and Boulogne-Billancourt.”

DavideBrivio, Director of Racing Expansion Projects, declared: “Alpine’sband of racers is a key to its long-term performance, and I’m thrilled to beable to contribute to the exciting ambition to shape a new culture withinracing that is responsible and inclusive. Formula 1 is a flagship, but we alsoneed to develop our ambition in new territories, and I am ready to supportLaurent Rossi towards this goal.”