F1
Alain Prost explains his departure fromAlpine and attacks Laurent Rossi
© Alain Prost and Alpine, It's finish. Antonin Vincent / DPPI
First ambassador and consultant of Renault F1 Team since the return of the French manufacturer in Formula 1, then non-executive director since 2019, Alain Prost leaves the Enstone team and the news spread all day Monday. Annoyed that his departure was not announced directly by Alpine, as had obviously been agreed, the quadruple world champion spoke in L'Equipe, revealing his version of the facts concerning his end of adventure with Alpine. He explains in particular that he was sidelined, notably by Laurent Red.
“The 2021 season was very disruptive for me in that I felt that the old ones had to go, he confided. (…) I was no longer involved in decisions, sometimes I did not share them, not even at all, but I had to continue to convey the official word. Even as a board member, I found out about some decisions at the last minute. We may not be listened to, but at least be warned in time. It's a question of respect. Relationships became more and more complicated, I felt there was a lot of jealousy”, asserted Alain Prost.
The Professor also explained that his relations with Laurent Rossi, the boss of the team and the brand, had deteriorated considerably. “Laurent Rossi's desire is to be alone, not to be polluted by anyone, he explained. He also told me himself that he no longer needed advice. It was in Qatar, but he still offered me a contract in Abu Dhabi, which I refused. It must still be said that it is a project in which I believed and I still believe, an ambitious project which has given incredible motivation to the group. But now, there is a real desire to exclude a lot of people. Laurent Rossi wants all the light", he explained in L’Equipe.
As a reminder, executive director Marcin Budkowski also left Alpine, as part of the vast restructuring plan initiated by Rossi. According to our information, the former CEO ofAston Martin F1 Team Otmar Szafnauer is expected at Alpine, and could arrive in his suitcases with sponsor BWT, the water filtering company that we had seen mainly at Racing Point.
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Jeremy Satis
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PHILIPPE MOURET
18/01/2022 at 02:07 a.m.
Mr. Rossi seems to want to clear the air. This will be to his credit if he succeeds but it is a shame that unlike Toto Wolf, a man with a strong character, who had the intelligence to collaborate with Niki Lauda (another man with a strong character) , Mr. Rossi does without a Como Alain Prost monument. May the solitude of his boss’s summits not turn into altitude sickness for this beautiful stable Alpine !
DANIEL MEYERS
18/01/2022 at 11:56 a.m.
There was therefore no divorce by mutual consent! Be careful Mr Rossi, Enston in retaliation for its coup d'état may very well ensure that the year 2022 turns into an industrial disaster. In any case, all this mess in terms of timing and communication suggests more worries, discomfort, than serenity.