Hi friends,
Am I the only one still struggling to get my sleep pattern back to normal after Le Mans?
Top Story of the Week: Renault CEO Luca de Meo Is Leaving the Organisation
During qualifying for the Canadian GP, another high-level Renault bombshell dropped: Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, credited with saving the company during the pandemic, will leave on 15 July to run Kering — a French luxury goods company that owns brands like Balenciaga, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. His exit ends the “Renaulution” halfway through the script and pulls Alpine into yet another round on executive roulette.
While de Meo was praised for his efforts to turn Renault around and return the company to profitability, many Alpine F1 fans hold a different view. His recent decision to end the home-built Renault F1 engine programme in Viry, shaving roughly €200 million off the company’s motorsports expenses, drew heavy criticism.
Renault’s board now weighs two front-runners to replace de Meo. Denis Le Vot, who runs Dacia and the group supply chain, is a continuity pick: financially disciplined, steeped in Renault culture and broadly supportive of De Meo’s cost-cutting logic. Maxime Picat, currently purchasing chief at Stellantis, is an outsider with a reputation for aggressive turnarounds and little patience for vanity projects. Whoever wins inherits the Alpine headache: a team dead last in the 2025 standings with organisational turmoil after cycling through four team principals in as many seasons.
That revolving door has an obvious cost. Development goals reset, management philosophies change, and budget allocations shift. Reports suggest that Enstone’s 2026 plans are already behind schedule after last winter’s reshuffle, and the switch to Mercedes engines will further complicate matters. Engineers describe a “permanent preseason” atmosphere — always prepping for a breakthrough that never comes.
If Le Vot takes the reins, expect the current recovery plan to continue, albeit under tighter fiscal scrutiny. He is said to back Briatore’s push to streamline decision-making and measure progress in laptime versus euros spent. A Picat appointment, by contrast, would almost certainly trigger a strategic review of whether Alpine belongs in F1 at all.
Briatore maintains that Alpine’s turnaround roadmap won’t change, yet corporate history says new CEOs often clear house to prove accountability. Should the next boss decide the team’s results and marketing halo no longer justify the expense, Alpine could find itself on the chopping block.
For now, the team staff soldier on. Current performance won’t secure their future, so it may depend on the incoming chief’s appetite for Formula 1 and on what realistic promises Flavio Briatore can offer up, once the new CEO moves in.
The Rest of the Stories This Week:
- Team Principal James Vowles has signed a new long-term contract with Williams
- The FIA suspended driver steward Derek Warwick from the Canadian GP over “unauthorised media comments”
- Formula 1 will race in Canada through 2035
- Formula 1 will race in Las Vegas through 2027
- Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s proposed amendments to the FIA statutes and ethics code were passed with a large majority
- Mohammed Ben Sulayem has sacked the FIA Head of Sustainability, Inclusion & Diversity Sara Mariani
- Abbi Pulling signed a multi-year deal with Nismo Formula E as a rookie and simulator driver
- The FIA has extended the homologation cycle of the Hypercar class until the end of 2032
- The Iron Dames have been forced to withdraw from the Six Hours of the Glen
- We got some new images of the renovated Hungaroring
- Vanwall and Isotta Fraschini are interested in joining the Asian Le Mans Series
- The plans that were announced last year to bring Kyalami up to FIA Grade 1 have been approved
- The management of Istanbul Park has been transferred to the Turkish Motorsports Association, who will begin track infrastructure renovations
That’s it for this week, thank you for being here.
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