Last Updated on May 7 2025, 2:49 pm
Renault have been a stalwart of Formula One since they joined the sport as works team outfit in 1977. In 1983 they began supplying engines to other competitors which is where the French company has had most of its F1 success.
They did win the constructors’ and drivers’ titles in 2005/2006 with Fernando Alonso, but their engine division has seen them power other constructor’s to ten further titles and nine drivers’ championships. Renault lie fourth in the all time wins for a power unit with 169 Grand Prix victories with a win rate of 22% from their 400 race starts.
Yet since their successful collaboration with Red Bull between 2010-2013, where they and Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive championships, the once French F1 superpower has been spluttering along with the odd cylinder missing here and there.
Briatore critical of F1 engines
As a works outfit, like Honda, Renault have been in and out of the sport over the decades and it seemed they would return to merely supplying engines after the 2008 ‘crashgate’ scandal which rocked the world of Formula One. During the Singapore Grand Prix that year, Nelson Piquet junior was instructed to crash his Renault into the pit lane wall at a key moment where the subsequent safety car would favour his team mate Fernando Alonso.
Whilst FIA president and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone knew there had been foul play, they had it within their power to declare the result of the Singapore event void but chose to remain silent fearing the backlash the sport would receive. This failure to act handed Lewis Hamilton his first drivers’ title but had the race been declared void, Brazil’s Felipe Massa wold have been champion that year.
However, the scandal could not be contained and blew up in 2009 with Renault receiving a two year suspended ban from F1 and team boss Flavio Briatore banned from the sport for life. Whilst Flavio went quietly at the time, on the 5th January 2010, the French Tribunal de Grande Instance overturned his ban, and awarded him €15,000 in compensation. Yet Flavio did not return to F1 although he was outspoken for a number of year’s from the sidelines.
Briatore was highly critical over F1’s decision to outsource the future of its engine power to the decisions made by the manufacturers. “They delegated the writing of rules to engineers who do not care about the fans or entertainment, If Formula One does not change again in the near future, then the audience will be lost. Look at the comments on the internet, in blogs, on Twitter – they did not like the Australian Grand Prix. It was an indecipherable and depressing show. This is unacceptable and now we have chaos” said Briatore in 2014.
Alpine head count slashed
Later that year the Italian spoke out again over the new V6 silent turbo hybrids. “I do not like this new Formula One. It’s not our Formula 1.” Briatore highlighted cars that “do not make a noise”, drivers having to “save fuel” and “fake overtaking”. He added: “It is no longer a sport of gladiators, it is a sport of accountants.”
The once F1 boss of Benetton and Renault retreated into driver management for the next decade until in May 2024 the CEO of the French corporation came knocking. Luca de Meo persuaded Briatore to join the F1 team now branded Alpine as their ‘executive advisor.’ In reality Flavio was team boss in all but name with Motor Sport reporting he “has effectively been given full scope for hirings and firings within the team.”
Flav began a huge cost cutting exercise at Enstone, with a target to reduce the headcount by 25%. More shocking was his decision to shut the Viry-Chatilon engine division which had brought Renault most of their F1 success. He signed a three year deal for the team to purchase Mercedes engines from 2026 and with the uncertainty surrounding the longevity of the new power trains, Briatore’s decision looks to have been a masterstroke.
Paddock rumours swirled that Briatore had been tasked with finding a buyer for the F1 team, something he repeatedly denied. He appointed a new team principal in the late summer of 2024 as Oliver Oakes previously running junior category team Hitech was promoted into the hot seat. Oakes never really looked as ease with the role and in F1 land it was common knowledge it was Briatore making all the decisions.
Trump persuaded against Miami GP
Oliver Oakes walks on Doohan decision
Now the decision by Flavio to replace rookie driver Jack Doohan after just six races appears to have been the final straw for Oakes who now quits the team with immediate effect. Briatore is back. Back as Alpine team principle and the upcoming paddock weekend interviews, just got a whole lot more spicy.
Doohan will be switched with Alpine’s reserve driver Franco Colapinto and there word from the team appears to suggest he will be assessed across the next five race weekends. Flavio isAlpine’s seventh team principal since Cyril Abiteboul left in 2020. The team has existed in a permanent state of chaos, although under Oakes token leadership they recovered from second to last to finish the constructors’ title race in sixth place last year.
Alpine are currently one point from the foot of the constructors’ table, with Jack Doohan failing to score a single point. Pierre Gasly’s best finish for the team has been in P7, but he was out qualified by Doohan in the recent race weekend in Miami.
Catalogue of Alpine chaos
The catalogue of Alpine’s self inflicted traumas is truly shocking to read.
2022 – Alonso announced his departure
2022 – Piastri refutes Alpine’s announcement he is their next driver
2023 – Team principal Otmar Szafnauer sacked
2024 – New team boss Bruno Famin has public spat with Ocon live on TV
2024 – Ocon forced to sit out last race weekend in favour of Doohan
2024 – Famin steps down
2024 – Oliver Oakes appointed TP
2024 – F1 Renault engines division announced to close
2025 – Oakes steps down, Doohan sacked, Briatore appointed TP
The catalogue of misery for Enstone has seen drivers come and go since 2020. Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon and now Jack Doohan have all been and gone and now highly rated young Argentinian, Franco Colapinto will enter the dragons den.
Its unclear what the goals of Alpine F1 are these days. Hopes of winning a race look remote and the five year plan announced by Luca de Meo lays in tatters. Surviving the rest of the year without controversy would be a start, although the temporary nature of Colapinto’s appointment suggests there may be more fun and games to come with Alpine’s driver lineup.
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
