Alpine invests “half a billion Euros per season” in F1
As Laurent Rossi reflected on this difficult start to the season for Alpine, the general manager of Alpine became frustrated with the performance of the French team. Especially with regards to the result ratio compared to the budget invested by the Renault group.
While Alpine managed to bounce back from its challenging initial races of the season, Laurent Rossi granted an interview to Canal+. He reflects on this disappointing start to the 2023 season for the French team, where he used harsh words and expressed his anger towards the situation.
With only 14 points in its first five races, Alpine is tied in the championship with McLaren, in fifth place. This position does not meet the expectations placed on the French team and their car.
A colossal budget
Alpine, through Luca De Meo and Laurent Rossi, is spending massive financial resources. They are using the entire available budget cap, which amounts to a budget of 146 million euros per season. Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine, is therefore in a situation he does not appreciate. The ranking is not at all worthy of the resources invested. […] These are important things. We are committing enormous amounts. We are talking about half a billion per season, Laurent Rossi stated.
A sum that is supposed to put them in a comfortable position and enable them to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the season, Alpine had to deal with bad luck, accidents, and a lack of performance. We are very far from the ultimate goal of the year. We have a plan based on the current four-year regulations. By 2025, the goal is to place Alpine on the podiums and compete for victories, declared the general manager.
With the 500 million euros spent by Laurent Rossi and Luca De Meo as the team’s engine supplier, the two men expect better results from their team. With Pierre Gasly’s eighth-place finish in Miami, Alpine matched its best result of the season, while the French team wanted to get closer to the podium in the 2023 season.
A budget worthy of top teams?
F1 budgets are complicated to calculate. If each team in 2023 reaches the budget limit for the development of their cars, other items can be added to the budget. These include marketing, driver salaries, the three highest management salaries, as well as providers and consultants.
In 2022, it is estimated that the biggest teams like Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari have invested at least 500 million Euros in their team.
We are therefore far from the budgets of teams like Haas or Alfa Romeo Sauber, which barely reach 200 million.
