![]() “For us to gain something out of this involvement in Formula 1, we would have to win the championship. “Renault was part of the furniture,” he said. Rossi described this as an “on-off” commitment and said F1 was something Renault struggled to get the right return on investment from. And it would continue because it’s part of the group’s DNA, but every time it was like ‘ not sure’.” “And every year the topic was discussed, which is normal in a big corporation like Renault, because we are reasonable people assessing investment every year. Rossi said: “After two years, if the results are not here and suddenly Red Bull or the likes are investing tons of money, we were like, ‘ah damn it, can we follow suit? Can we just invest the same?’. And in an interview with The Race late last year, Rossi admitted that the future of the F1 team would continually come up as a topic of discussion within the Renault group. But even a well-established brand like Renault would get an awfully good return on investment if it was winning in F1. Yes, the sporty Alpine brand would still be a better fit for F1 than the increasingly electric-focused Renault line of cars. If the Enstone-Viry combination had lived up to the initial roadmap and become a title challenger by now, or at least had some rock-hard evidence that it was capable of doing that, you can make a decent case that Renault’s works F1 team would still bear its name. This team wouldn’t be called Alpine if Renault had full faith in its own F1 factory project. But right now, the stakes aren’t as high for Renault’s works team as they used to be. It’s clear Rossi’s responsible for an overhaul and it remains to be seen whether it’s for better or worse. To understand this, you need to look past the short-term events on the surface. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 11: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine F1 A522 Renault leaves the garage during Day Two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain.There’s probably been more upheaval in the first 12 months of the Alpine era than the five years the team spent badged as Renault.Īnd this is the part where we tell you that, as Alpine, this team has a stability that it sorely lacked as Renault. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 11: Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal of Alpine F1 talks in the Team Principals Press Conference during Day Two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 11: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine F1 A522 Renault during Day Two of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 12: Fernando Alonso of Spain and Alpine F1 walks in the Paddock during Day Three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. ![]() (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) © 2022 Getty ImagesīAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 12: Esteban Ocon of France and Alpine F1 looks on in the Drivers Press Conference during Day Three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain. BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 12: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Alpine F1 A522 Renault on track during Day Three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on Main Bahrain, Bahrain.
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