Renault CEO Luca de Meo has revealed the benefits of two major changes coming to the company’s Formula 1 team in 2021.
First, on the Sunday of the Italian Grand Prix, it was announced the Enstone-based outfit would assume the Alpine name from next season, reviving the brand best known for rallying in motorsport circles.
And though it will be the first time the sportscar company will have competed in F1, De Meo believed Alpine brings a different feel to the team.
“I think the Alpine spirit will give it – let’s say a boost, and I also know that even if Renault is a glorious brand, I think that the fit within the Formula 1 world of Alpine is even better. It can be even better,” he told the media before the announcement.
“I am a big believer that Formula 1 should be a championship of constructors with brands that make people dream, with the connection possible between racing on Sunday and selling on Monday.
“So with a connection that the customer can touch in the street: looking at Ferraris, Mercedes, and some glorious names like Williams, and Aston Martin next year, it’s good for the sport.”
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The Renault chief also believes Alpine’s presence will help the company become more than just a historic name.
“When I entered the company, I saw Alpine as a brand as a very nostalgic thing,” he added.
“Nostalgia is okay, but I think we need to look at the future. So we need to think in a different way, and use Alpine to build the future: not looking at 60 years ago or 50 years ago.
“If there is a fit, if there is a business opportunity because that’s what we’re trying to do right now, then it is to kind of change a little bit the approach to that story.”
The other major change coming next year is the return of Fernando Alonso after two years off the grid, with the Spaniard set for his third stint at the team which he last raced for back in 2009.
De Meo was asked if the decision to hire the double world champion was as much about marketing as it was his talent.
“We think ‘Well, that’s why we hired him’,” he replied.
“I know, for example, the level of attractiveness this guy has in not only his country [Spain] but in countries around the world, in South America.
“I mean he is a brand in himself and he is a very strong driver. He is very, very motivated to come back to his house, a bit like me. I started at Renault and I have come back after many decades, 25 years.
“We are both very pleased to have a chance to give a contribution. I think for sure he is an asset.”