Renault in crisis in F1
Renault won its last Formula 1 championship in 2006 with Fernando Alonso, and since then the expected success has not come.
The French manufacturer pulled the factory team from the sport for a while and chose to take part in the sport only as an engine manufacturer. Afterwards, they returned to sports with the factory team, but they could not return to the front division.
In the middle of the 2023 season, the French manufacturer, which abruptly dismissed almost all of its top executives, is once again in crisis.
The Race recently wrote an article about it. It seems that the expected success in Formula 1 is not coming, which undermines the management's patience and pushes them to take radical decisions.
The main problem with them right now seems to be that there is a significant inconsistency between Renault management's ideas about the way the factory team works and the results it should achieve, and what Alpine F1 can do in the current situation.
Renault considers it important for the F1 team to promote the Alpine brand globally. So, the main purpose of being in F1 seems to be to increase sales of the Alpine A110, the only model produced under the brand. Sales are indeed increasing, with a record growth of over 2022 percent in 33, according to official information.
But that's apparently not enough and it won't come as a surprise to anyone if their recent dismissal soon follows the F1 team's sale. If the French company feels that the marketing potential of the Formula 1 project has been exhausted, it could actually happen.
Also, the values of F1 teams have risen to levels never seen before, and Renault may think it's time to sell the F1 team instead of continuing to invest billions of dollars. A possible sale would mean millions of dollars going into the company.
Renault senior management sees the F1 team as one of the departments within the company and constantly intervenes in teamwork. Selling the team may be the best solution as this will not have positive results.
British commentator Mark Hughes said: “The problems stemming from company management interventions have been going on for several years, and it's because they're not happy with the results even though they're directly involved.” said.
"It's kind of a vicious circle and these processes are really hindering the development of the team."
