Renault F1 team could be rebranded 'Alpine'

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Renault F1 could be set for a change of identity after team boss Cyril Abiteboul has been put in charge of reviving the French manufacturer's Alpine brand.

Ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, Groupe Renault announced a restructuring of four of its brands into separate unites: Renault, Dacia, Alpine and New Mobility.

"The objective would be to give each business unit an autonomous organization," stated Renault on Thursday.

"This project aims to create a simpler and more results-oriented organization, while strengthening the cohesion, motivation and sense of belonging of the teams thus grouped by brands."

Abiteboul has been put in charge of the ‘creation, organisation and implementation’ of the Alpine brand, a name synonymous with prestigious wins in the rally world as well as in sportscar racing in the seventies.

However, the Frenchman will remain at the helm of Renault's F1 efforts, generating speculation that the Enstone squad could be renamed Alpine or that the team could revive the Alpine Renault appellation.

It is believed that Renault mulled scrapping the Alpine brand altogether amid the massive losses accumulated by the manufacturer.

But new Renault CEO Luca de Meo now sees a future for the brand which could simply become Renault's de facto motorsport division, headed by Abiteboul.

Speaking in Friday's FIA team principal conference, Abiteboul said that CEO de Meo was ultimately the one who would make the call about whether to rebrand Renault's F1 team.

"These questions are corporate strategy, questions for the CEO," said Abiteboul.

"My two cents is that with the new Concorde Agreement, we have finally the possibility to have a stable platform in Formula 1, a great marketing platform.

"The way we want to make use of that platform will be up to the CEO. We have a flexible platform, and we have different brands.

"Probably a rationalisation will be one of the things we will need to do, given the group's financial results.

"We need to optimise the way we do things, but first there is a strategy to define, and it's not up to me to disclose [that]."

Abiteboul said that Alpine's new status as a stand-alone business unit would likely lead to the brand's expansion and development.

"That needs an organisation: an engineering department, a product department, a sales and communication department.

"That is what I like to do, that is what I've done for the [Renault] team, building an infrastructure and a platform."

"Right now what I've been asked to do is a mission with a set of proposals in order to structure our brand," he added.

"I've not been asked to run the brand. It's not in any way a permanent appointment whatsoever.

"That's what I will be focusing on: some of the strategies that I have been given are what I'm doing for Formula 1.

"There is absolutely no question of change of team leadership for the time that I do this mission."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.