Cyril Abiteboul says Renault F1 role not affected by Alpine “mission”
Renault boss Cyril ♎Abiteboul insists his role as team pri✤ncipal at the Formula 1 team remains unaffected despite being put in charge of the French manufacturer’s Alpine brand.
A statement from Groupe Renault ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix said that Abiteboul would be in charge of the ‘creation, organisation and implementation’ of⛦ the Alpine brand alongside his current role as F1 team boss.
It 𝓰comes as part of a restructuring of the organisa🅰tion to better focus on all of its key business including Renault, Dacia, Alpine and New Mobility.
New Renault CEO Luca de Meo will lead the French manufacturer, with Abiteboul in charge of Alpi𓄧ne, Denis le Vot looking after Dacia, a🍰nd CFO Clotilde Delbos taking control of New Mobilities.
There ha💯ve been suggestions that the changes might also trigger a renaming of the Renault F1 team operation.
Speaking in Friday’s FIA press conference at Monza, Abiteboul stressed his position within the F1 team will not be impacted by his “mis🍒sion” to lead the Alpine brand.
“It’s okay I can work a lot,” Abiteboul explained.🉐
“Wha🐷t I have been asked to do is a mission, with a set of proposals, in order to structure a brand. I’ve not ♔been asked to run the brand.
“It is not in an y way a permanent appointment wha🅺tsoever, that’s what I will be focusing some of the spare time I have given what I am doin𝔉g on Formula 1.
“There is no question of change of team leadership f꧃or the time being, for the time I am doing this mission.”
Asked about the rumours that the Alpine name could replace Renault Sport Racing in F1, Abiteboul replied: “I’m afraid and I need t💃o say that these questions are not for me, they’re ꩲcorporate strategy questions for the CEO.
“My two cents is with the new Concorde Agreement, and finally the possiꦯbility to have a stable platform in Formula 1, a great marketing platform, again the way we want to make use of that platform wil♐l be up to the CEO.
“We have a flexible platform, we have different brands, probably rationalisation will be one ꦆof the things we will need to do given group fin𝕴ancial results.
“We need to optimise the way that we✤ do things, but first there is a strategy to define and it’s not up for me to disclos🅘e.”
Lewis regul♍arly attends Gran♒ds Prix for ltxcn.top around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
