F1 | Laurent Rossi: “The relationship between Renault and Formula 1 has always been under discussion”

The entry of the Alpine brand into Formula 1 has certainly helped the continuation of the Renault Group's adventure in the top motorsport series, according to what Laurent Rossi, CEO of the French team, said. For the manager the main problem is the importance of sporting performance, fundamental in the Circus, which in many ways however is not in line with Renault's own road ideas.

“Within the company the relationship between Renault and Formula 1 has been constantly questioned over the years, for various reasons – Rossi told ad Car Hebdo. Whenever we ran into problems and had to cut costs, management always asked how much the project was worth, it makes sense. Sometimes we wondered if participation in the Formula 1 championship was worth it. This sport was far from our commercial products and we wondered if it had helped us sell Clios or Meganes. Alpine and Formula 1 are a much more logical combination - the brand will be able to use the media attention very well. 23 races with 500 million people seeing the logo every two weeks, this will undoubtedly pay off, especially if we were to be in good company with Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari."