Alpine announce staff expansion to compete with likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull
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Alpine F1 team
Renault have been present in Formula 1 for a very long time, and as engine manufacturers, they have the second most World Constructors’ Championships of all time, with 12, behind Ferrari. As a constructor, they have two Constructors’ Championships, in 2005 and 2006, from Fernando Alonso, who returned to the team in 2021.
In 2021, the team rebranded as ‘Alpine’. For a long time, the team’s position as a midfield runner has been fairly constant. Perhaps a little too constant. Since 2018 when they finished 4th, they have finished 5th in every single constructors’ championship, placing them right in the middle of the grid.
Alpine’s ambitions go beyond that, and there is no doubt that Fernando Alonso’s ambitions go beyond that. The Spaniard has driven very well this season, almost flawlessly, but fortune seems to evade him at every turn. In Austria, his car failed to start for the sprint race, and he started the feature race from the back row. He displayed a very strong pace, only to have to make two pit stops in two laps due to a loose tyre, relegating him to 10th. In line with their ambitions, Alpine are expanding.
Also Read: Fernando Alonso draws praise from the foreign press: “The 40-year-old driver makes others look old”
Otmar Szafnauer: We have to be the size of the big teams to compete with them
Since their return to Formula 1 in 2016, Renault have invested heavily into expansion. The most significant & recent of these expansions came in 2019 – when their factory, the Whiteways Technical Centre, made a two-story extension, the key goal of it being to add a new R & D suite, but there have been other expansions since that.
Now, Alpine have also announced a staff extension – with an additional 75 staff set to be recruited by the team. Talking to The Race, Alpine’s team principal, Otmar Szfanauer said: “There’s still an element of expansion and investment and we’re committed to that. We’re looking at hiring another 75 people, there are about 850 of us here. We’ve got to be at the size of the big teams if we want to fight with the big teams.”
He added: “And it’s not just about adding people, it’s adding the right people with the right culture, and the right racing spirit. And we’re looking for those now. We’ve had good success in recruiting, as well as expanding the site here as well, too. And that’s been recently approved. I think work will start just around the corner from us very soon.”
This expansion will bring them about on size with Mercedes’s approximated 950 employees. Currently, Alpine sit 5th again, level on points with McLaren, and have seemed to have a much, much stronger pace in the last few weekends. Fernando Alonso has said that he wants to compete for victories in 2023, and this seems to be a move in that direction.
Also Read: Fernando Alonso’s negotiations with Alpine will only take place after the F1 summer break
Also Read: “We are at the front of the midfield” : Alpine has their eyes set on a top rank
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)