09 August 2023 , 17:54
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Helmut Marko suggested Renault should sell its Alpine F1 operation to Michael Andretti with the team in a state of dramatic flux.
Alpine are in search of a new leader after Otmar Szafnauer was ousted at last month's Belgian Grand Prix. And he is far from the only high-profile departure at Enstone.
Sporting director Alan Permane is also out after 34 years while technical chief Pat Fry is on his way to Williams. Those changes came a week after CEO Laurent Rossi was moved out of that role and into 'special projects'.
F1 legend Alain Prost also left acrimoniously around 18 months ago, while the team has also lost drivers Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri to rivals in the last year. The exodus has shone an intense spotlight on the Alpine team and the way it is being run by Renault.
The French carmaker says it remains committed to the project and is in the process of appointing Szafnauer's permanent successor – possibly former Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto – while the brand's VP of motorsports Bruno Famin is in temporary charge.
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Instead of planning for the future with a new leader, though, Red Bull adviser Marko feels everyone would benefit if Renault were to sell the team to Andretti. The American is keen on joining the F1 grid and has an application to create an entirely new outfit lodged with the FIA.
But there is no guarantee it will be successful. And it would be much cheaper and easier for his racing team Andretti Autosport to take over an existing team with staff and facilities in place rather than starting everything from scratch.
"Andretti should buy the Alpine team," said Marko. "That would be best served for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its 10 teams, Andretti could finally get in and Renault would still be involved."
Meanwhile, Famin has admitted there was "no plan" to sack Szafnauer, until it became clear his vision for the future was not compatible with Alpine's targets. "I had no real idea because the idea was always to be alongside everybody," he said.
"If the idea is to really to use all the skills on all the people we have at Enstone and at the end if we have chosen mutually to go for a different route with Alan or Otmar on the team is because we were not fully aligned.
"The decision has not been taken three months ago. It's a process where we talk about what we need to do to improve the team to go to the phase two of the 'Alpine in Formula 1' project. Okay, we say we are not aligned enough, right. But, no plan, there was no plan."