Four-time F1 Champ Alain Prost Blasts Alpine F1 Team on Way Out the Door

Four-time World Champion Alain Prost has departed the Renault-owned Alpine Formula 1 Team—and not in the most harmonious manner.

Prost has had an on-off relationship with Renault, having driven for its Formula 1 team in the early 1980s, in a driving career that culminated in 51 victories and four titles. Since 2017 Prost has been involved in Renault’s Formula 1 team, initially as special advisor, before being appointed non-executive director in 2019.

Formula 1’s official website reported on Monday that Prost was no longer involved with Alpine though no formal communication was forthcoming from the team itself. However Prost confirmed the situation.

“I am very disappointed how this news has been announced,” wrote Prost on his Instagram profile. “It was agreed that we would announce together with Alpine F1 Team! No respect sorry! I have refused the offer made to me in Abu Dhabi for the 2022 season because of a personal relationship and I was right! To the Enstone and Viry team I will miss you.”

Prost did not name any specific individual on that occasion but in a further interview with renowned French sports journal L’Equipe turned his ire on Laurent Rossi, who was appointed CEO upon the team’s rebrand into Alpine—Renault’s niche but growing sportscar division—in early 2021.

Prost commented that Rossi “wants to be alone” and “wants all the light,” and was informed in Qatar, at the antepenultimate round of 2021, that his services were no longer required for 2022. Nonetheless an offer was forthcoming for 2022, Prost claims, which he subsequently turned down.

Prost added that he was becoming increasingly isolated at Alpine, only informed of decisions at the last minute, and indicated that towards the end of the year Rossi no longer acknowledged his presence at certain moments.

“It's a question of respect,” Prost said. “Relationships became more and more complicated, I felt that there was a lot of jealousy.”

Confirmation of Prost’s departure from Alpine’s Formula 1 structure comes a week after the exit of executive director Marcin Budkowski was announced. It is the second successive off-season of change at the outfit, after previous team principal Cyril Abiteboul was ousted in January 2021.

The team has largely underachieved since Groupe Renault’s full-scale return in 2016. It finished a best of fourth in the 2018 standings and last year wound up fifth in the championship for a third successive campaign. It did, however, claim a shock victory in Hungary courtesy of Esteban Ocon, in a year in which Red Bull Racing’s junior team AlphaTauri was its main opponent.

Alpine is one of several ambitious midfield teams eyeing the next few years as its opportunity to upset Formula 1’s status quo, courtesy of the impending new regulations and the budget cap, which was introduced in 2021. It will again field Ocon and two-time champion Fernando Alonso in 2022.

Former Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer has been linked to a position at Alpine, potentially as a like-for-like replacement for Budkowski.