About

Alpine F1 Team is an upcoming Formula One constructor scheduled to make its debut at the start of the 2021 season. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault’s sports car brand Alpine and will continue to serve as Renault’s works team. 2-Time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso would be making a return to Formula One driving alongside Esteban Ocon for the 2021 season.

Racing History

Renault F1 Team (2002–2010)

The team in its current form can date back its origins to the 2001 Renault works team led by Flavio Briatore. Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli were the drivers assigned behind the wheel of the car as the team had a respectable start to life in Formula One with 23 points on the board and finishing 4th in the championship. The 2003 season saw Renault bring in a young protege in Fernando Alonso to replace Jenson Button. The team would make further improvements in the season and pick up their first win as well. The team would yet again finish 4th in the championship but make remarkable progress in terms of pace. The 2004 season saw further developments as the team would end the season third in the standings.

The 2005 season saw the rise in prominence of Renault as a championship contender. Renault took advantage of a change in regulation and would go on to win both the drivers and constructors title. The 2006 season saw Renault face stiff competition from Ferrari but in the end, Renault was able to clinch the title and make it two in a row for the French team.

The 2007 season saw Fernando Alonso's departure coincide with a loss of form for the French team. The drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella were unable to repeat the results of the previous years as the team would be unable to score even a single win in the season. The 2008 season saw a return of Fernando Alonso but the team was unable to challenge for the championship in any capacity, although Alonso was able to pick up two victories at Singapore and Japan, there wasn’t much to write home about for the team.

The 2009 season saw Renault tumble down the grid even further with the introduction of new regulations. Alonso would score 4 points in the first 6 races and that set the tone for the season as the team would be unable to challenge for the title yet again. The 2009 season also saw Renault getting caught in the allegations of race rigging and the infamous Crashgate. As a result, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were thrown out of the team while Renault would sell a majority share of the team to Genii Capital.

Return to F1(2016-2020)

Renault would make a return to F1 in 2016 with Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer as the two drivers. The team, still ironing out issues at the old factory would put together a respectable start to the season, finishing in 9th place with 8 points in the bag.

The team would make significant improvements in the following season while at the same time hiring Nico Hulkenberg to drive for them. The team would finish the season 6th in the standings with 57 points in the bag. The 2018 season would see further improvements from the team, with Hulkenberg and Sainz propelling the team to 4th in the standings. The 2019 season saw the team sign Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull but struggle with car issues throughout the season and ultimately lose the 4th position to Mclaren in the championship. The 2020 season would see Renault pick up 3 podium positions but yet again finish the season 5th in the championship.

Daniel Ricciardo would leave the team at the end of the 2020 season while 2-Time former champions Fernando Alonso would replace him. The team would be rebranded as the Alpine F1 team from the 2021 season.

Drivers

Some of the prominent drivers to have driven for Alpine Racing include Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Carlos Sainz Jr.