Krief replaces Rossi as Alpine F1 CEO
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi has been replaced at the head of the French carmaker by vice-president Philippe Krief, effective immediately.
Rossi took up the CEO role in 2021 as the Formula 1 team transitioned from Renault to Alpine to increase visibility of the boutique car brand. The Frenchman will be shifted to a “special projects” role in the broader Groupe Renault.
Rossi’s hands-on reign featured the acquisition from Aston Martin of Otmar Szafnauer as team principal, but engineer Marcin Budkowski and French racing icon Alain Prost were collateral damage of his attempt to shake the team out of its midfield lethargy.
His 100-race plan to win the championship has been his defining policy and appeared to be on track last season, when the team secured fourth in the constructors championship, but a disappointing start to this year’s campaign precipitated a blow-up in the media in which Rossi lashed his own staff for wasting resources and put Szafnauer on notice.
His shift out of the CEO position comes less than two weeks after the car manufacturer appointed renowned French engineer Bruno Famin to the new position of vice-president of Alpine motorsports. The minor restructure meant Szafnauer reported to Famin rather than Rossi, whose focus was to switch to the boarder Alpine brand. But Rossi has now been extracted from the structure entirely, with Krief taking the reins this week.
“I would like to thank Laurent for his unwavering commitment over the last two years at the helm of Alpine,” Renault CEO Luca de Meo said in a statement. “Laurent has set out a clear and ambitious strategy for the brand. He has put Alpine in the best possible position to achieve its long-term goals.
“Alpine is now ready to enter a new phase of its development and to become a brand of the future.”
Krief joined Alpine as engineering and product performance vice-president earlier this year, having held engineering and design roles at auto manufacturers Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Maserati as well as tire manufacturer Michelin. He will continue in his Alpine vice president role until a successor is found.
“Philippe combines a long industry experience, great technical knowledge with the leadership qualities that are key to the success of our project, including the launch of the brand's new vehicles starting next year,” De Meo said. “I fully trust Philippe and his team to take Alpine to new heights.”
Alpine is sixth in the constructors standings 12 points behind McLaren. The team has scored one podium for the season -- Esteban Ocon’s third place in Monaco -- but has suffered three double DNFs, including last time out at the British Grand Prix.
Ocon is 10th on the drivers' title table with 31 points. Teammate Pierre Gasly has 16 points in 12th.
Presented by:
Michael Lamonato
Having first joined the F1 press corps in 2012 by what he assumed was administrative error, Michael has since made himself one of the few Australian regulars in the press room. Graduating in print journalism and later radio, he worked his way from community media to Australia's ABC Grandstand as an F1 broadcaster, and his voice is now heard on the official Australian Grand Prix podcast, the F1 Strategy Report and Box of Neutrals. Though he'd prefer to be recognized for his F1 expertise, in parts of hometown Melbourne his reputation for once being sick in a kart will forever precede him.
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