Perfect time for Renault-Alpine name swap with upcoming regulation changes

Renault

Perfect time for Renault-Alpine name swap with upcoming regulation changes

Renault will become Alpine F1 in 2021

Ewan Gale

Sunday 20 September 2020 12:08

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Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul believes the impending Concorde Agreement and regulation changes make now the perfect time to introduce the Alpine brand into Formula 1.

New Renault CEO Luca de Meo announced the re-branding at the start of September whilst also confirming Abiteboul would remain in charge in 2021.

With new aerodynamic regulations for 2022, Abiteboul believes with the the domination of Mercedes could be nearing an end and, as a result, Formula 1 will be an attractive marketing platform for the Alpine brand.

"Right now, you need to spend in order to destroy the domination," he explained.

"The combination of the Concorde Agreement and the budget cap is going to change that. They will not change that tomorrow but it will change that after a couple of years after the introduction.

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"That is why we believe it is indeed the perfect timing for the change of name. Not only that but the technical regulations are going to change in 2022. They will be much more restrictive than what they are now.

"So everything is pointing towards a sport that is going to be more competitive, more equitable, more exciting from an entertainment perspective and probably the right marketing platform for the new brand."

Part of the reasoning behind the implementation of the budget cap is to assist the teams in becoming more financially stable while still being able to compete effectively.

Abiteboul revealed the team was already working within the capped value but insisted he would push for an engine budget cap in the future to make Formula 1's power units more cost-effective in the future.

"Enstone, as a structure, is not very far from [breaking even]. We are below the budget cap but one thing that will be key for what we want to do from a business perspective would be the cost of the new engine regulation.

"That is where we will need at the same time to be probably more reasonable than what we have now from a cost perspective - maybe some engine budget cap - but also try to establish a connection between the road car that we need to have in the sports segment and what we want to do in Formula 1."

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