Dave Greenwood becomes race director at Alpine
Dave Greenwood makes his return to Formula 1. After a rich career with Renault and Ferrari and experiences in various motorsport disciplines, he returns to the paddocks with Alpine.
Since mid-January, Dave Greenwood has returned to Formula 1 with Alpine as the race director. This recruitment comes at the right time for the French team, which had a challenging 2024 season but still finished sixth in the Constructors’ Championship with a double podium in Brazil. This return marks a new chapter in Greenwood’s long and rich career in F1.
He started as a mechanic, then gradually climbed the ranks to become the chief engineer. He notably worked at BAR Honda from 2000 to 2004 as a vehicle dynamicist, and then at Renault, where he directly contributed to Fernando Alonso’s world titles in 2005 and 2006 as a race and performance engineer.
His professional trajectory then led him to Manor/Marussia for four years before moving to Ferrari in October 2014. It was there that he oversaw Kimi Räikkönen’s return, becoming his race engineer and leaving a mark with the famous radio exchange « gloves and steering wheel » at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. That season, Ferrari finished third in the constructors’ championship.
Greenwood left Ferrari in May 2018 to explore new opportunities in motorsport. He held the position of Technical Director at Manor in the World Endurance Championship, then a similar position at United Autosports, where he achieved class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the team World Endurance Championship title.
He then joined Hitech GP – a team formerly led by Oliver Oakes – as a special projects manager, a contract that was initially supposed to last until 2026. Since the summer of 2024, Oakes has been the director of the Alpine team. So it was naturally the director of the French team who asked Greenwood to join him.
The discussions between Oakes and Greenwood lasted several months before the latter finally accepted the position of race director at Alpine in January 2025. His involvement in the Bahrain 2025 tests, where Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan displayed promising performances, stands out markedly compared to the issues the A524 faced during the 2024 tests.
For Alpine, the recruitment of the British engineer is of strategic importance in the quest to improve performance. With Greenwood in charge of race strategy, the team is relying on his experience to optimize the performance of its drivers and climb up the rankings. He will face the challenge of optimizing the team’s performance and finding his bearings amidst the intense pressure of Formula 1 competition.
