Alpine are in crisis and need a leader - so who could be their next F1 boss?

Alpine head into the summer break in a state of flux after announcing a trio of departures in one weekend, with Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry all heading for the exit door in the latest turbulent chapter for team Enstone. 

Szafnauer’s departure after just 18 months in the post continues a dramatic revolving door of F1 managers at Alpine since the start of 2021, with Cyril Abiteboul and Marcin Budkowski both going before him. 

Such is the fast-paced and unforgiving world of F1 that the search for a replacement is already underway, with attention now turning to who might be next to take the Alpine hot seat. 

Mattia Binotto 

Within hours of the news of Alpine’s sweeping management changes, former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto was already being linked with the vacant position.

Binotto has been out of work since being ousted by Ferrari at the end of 2022, but was the immediate name being bandied about as a potential successor to Szafnauer. 

A recent return to the F1 paddock at the British Grand Prix has only added fuel to the rumours that Binotto is planning a comeback. 

Not only does Binotto have experience running an F1 team, he also boasts a brilliant engineering mind that would be an asset for any team on the grid. 

A move to Alpine would give Binotto the chance to rebuild his reputation after his failed Ferrari tenure and it is one that Sky’s Martin Brundle believes is “not out of the question”. 

Jost Capito 

Another recent F1 team boss on the market is Jost Capito, who was in charge of Williams for two years before a rather abrupt departure at the end of 2022. 

Capito’s CV features spells working for several manufacturers including Volkswagen and F1 teams, with his last position he held at Williams was more of an all-encompassing role as CEO. 

The 64-year-old German certainly has plenty of experience of top-level management to take the Alpine job, but whether he has the desire to is another matter. 

Capito’s comments following his Williams departure suggested a full-time return to F1 is not something he is pursuing. 

"I have to see what I'm doing,” he told Bild in January. “I would like to be of some help somewhere, maybe in a consultant role. 

“Just help a little where you might be able to help. But not in such a big company anymore, with so many people and the whole day-to-day business."

Eric Boullier 

Eric Boullier is a familiar face in the F1 paddock and at Enstone. 

Boullier is currently working as managing director of the French Grand Prix but has previously acted as team boss of the Renault works team, as well as McLaren. 

While his time at McLaren was overshadowed by the team’s disastrous competitive slump, Boullier did an impressive job at Renault under their former Lotus guise despite financial constraints. 

The 49-year- old Frenchman was name-checked by British journalist Joe Saward as a possible successor to Szafnauer earlier this year when unease at Alpine first emerged. 

After leaving the team of his own accord in 2014, might Boullier feel like he has unfinished business at Enstone? 

A hire from within

One option for Alpine is to promote a new team principal from within - someone who has the trust of the top brass. 

Engine boss Bruno Famin, who will assume the role of interim team principal from the Dutch Grand Prix having recently been made vice president, stressed Alpine are in “no hurry” to make new appointments. 

A pair of quick-fire promotions suggests that Famin is someone who the Alpine/Renault hierarchy rate highly. He was a candidate Laurent Rossi was understood to be considering as a future team principal but Famin has not made his own aspirations on that front clear as yet. 

An alternative could be someone like Davide Brivio, who switched two wheels for four in 2021 when he joined Alpine as racing director before being moved into a new role in which he is essentially overseeing the team’s young driver programme. 

Brivio’s leadership qualities formed part of the stellar reputation he built in MotoGP as he transformed Yamaha and Suzuki into champions. Could he do the same in F1?