Davide Brivio and Alpine to part ways at the end of 2023
By Mukarram Hamid
Davide Brivio at a MotoGP press conference (Image: Getty Images)
Alpine Formula 1 team have announced that it will be mutually parting ways with Director of Racing Expansion Projects Davide Brivio at the end of the year so the Italian can “pursue other career opportunities.”
Brivio joined Alpine at the start of the 2021 season as Racing Director in F1. He spent the previous years of his career in different areas of motorcycle racing, including a stint as Team Manager of Yamaha in Word Superbike and MotoGP, then leading Suzuki and Joan Mir to the championship in MotoGP in 2020.
In 2022, Alpine appointed Brivio as Director of Racing Expansion Projects, where he oversaw the development of Alpine’s young driver programme. He was contracted to stay with the team as Director until the end of the 2024 season; however, he and the team managed to strike an agreement for Brivio to exit the team a year earlier than planned.
Interim Sporting Director Julian Rouse will take over from Brivio and oversee the development of the Alpine Academy programme, which currently features nine drivers spanning four different series, from Formula Two to European karting.
Davide Brivio with Alpine Academy driver Jack Doohan (Image: Getty Images)
Brivio’s departure was an unwanted addition to the huge losses that Alpine was already healing from. In 2021, Alpine suffered a considerable loss of Fernando Alonso, the two-time world champion whom Alpine hoped would lead them back to the front of the grid, to competitor Aston Martin. Shortly after losing Alonso, the team lost another great talent, Oscar Piastri, the most anticipated young driver in Formula One who was Alpine’s reserve driver in 2021, to fellow British team McLaren.
The departure of two highly talented and anticipated drivers was only the start of Alpine’s losses. Since then, the team have fired CEO Laurent Rossi, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane. Williams Racing also poached Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry at the end of the 2023 season.
These losses have been highlighted in the team’s performance, as they dropped from fourth in the standings at the end of 2022 to sixth in 2023- the team’s worst finish in Formula One since 2017.
Given all these recent developments, Brivio decided to pack his bags and use his expertise elsewhere. At this point, it is unclear what Brivio’s next career move will be. Given his success in MotoGP, maybe a trip back to the world of motorcycle racing will prove beneficial for the Italian.
Brivio said: “It has been a proud chapter in my motorsport career to be involved in Formula 1 with Alpine.
“I would like to thank Alpine for the opportunity to experience Formula One which was my desire and also for the chance to pass on some of my experience in motorsport onto its young drivers in the Alpine Academy.
“I am grateful to Alpine for accommodating my wish to pursue other opportunities which may arise in the future.”