Renault has announced that team boss Cyril Abiteboul is leaving the team with immediate effect. The move comes ahead of the French team's official rebranding as Alpine.

"I would like to thank the Groupe Renault for having trusted me for many years," said Abiteboul in a brief statement, "particularly with the relaunch and reconstruction of the team since 2016.

"The solid foundations of the racing team and the entities in France and England built over these years, the strategic evolution of the sport towards a more economically sustainable model, and more recently the Alpine project which provides a renewed sense of meaning and dynamism, all point to a very fine trajectory.

"I would like to thank Luca de Meo for involving me in the construction of the Alpine Business Unit and I wish the new structure every success."

While it is anticipated that Marcin Budkowski will be appointed team principal, Laurent Rossi is appointed CEO of Alpine, taking charge of Alpine cars, Sport, F1 and competition activities. The 45-year-old will report directly to CEO, Luca de Meo.

Rossi began his career in 2000 at Renault, in the mechanical engineering department. In 2009, after obtaining an MBA from Harvard Business School, he was recruited by the Boston Consulting Group, where he worked in the New York office as an automotive expert.

In 2012, he joined Google, where he was in charge of developing business relations with key accounts in the automotive industry. He then returned to Renault in 2018 and was appointed Director of Strategy & Business Development for Groupe Renault.

"I would like to warmly thank Cyril for his tireless involvement, which notably led the Renault F1 Team from the penultimate place in 2016 to the podiums last season," said Luca de Meo. "His remarkable work in F1 since 2007 allows us to look to the future, with a strong team and the new Alpine F1 Team identity to conquer the podiums this year."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 13/01/2021 10:27

"The one person not mentioned in the shuffle is Alain Prost! Maybe Brivio is going to replace him and be retained as team builder/advisor/mentor/ human resource development director.Only time will tell I guess."

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2. Posted by Endre, 13/01/2021 0:22

"OK, now I am confused; so how will Davide Brivio fit in the picture?"

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3. Posted by Wokingchap, 12/01/2021 14:56

"@BrightonCorgi.... do you think we will ever find out?"

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4. Posted by kenji, 12/01/2021 7:07

"I certainly didn't see this coming! I thought it was a rather extreme way of avoiding getting a tattoo of a "honey Badger' somewhere appropriate!! Originally I didn't have much time for CA but over time I grew to rather like him. He does have a sense of humour and the mere fact that he took on the mammoth task of rebuilding the team says a lot about his expertise and character.The 'shell' that he inherited was in a very bad situation and not for the fainthearted. Yes, he failed to get them up to the front row but he did well, IMO, but evidently not well enough. The '21 year when it actually kicks off, will have a myriad of new inclusions via people and teams, and that alone will be fascinating to observe. All we need now is for the virus to subside to the stage where we can actually get the racing back onto the menu.

The new team will be hard tested and I'm sure that they will be up to the task but how long will it take? "

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5. Posted by C5, 12/01/2021 1:08

"Talk about a zig-zag strategy. From expanding Cyril's responsibilities to include BOTH F1 and Alpine - something that never made sense - to now all out the door, all in a span of a few months.

I don't know Marcin Budkowski or Laurent Rossi. But Cyril Abiteboul never came across to me as bringing much progress to the team, so I guess they have a reasonably good shot at doing better.
"

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6. Posted by Batman, 12/01/2021 0:48

"The change was decided long ago. In some interviews with Cyril it was already noticeable.
"

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7. Posted by Editor, 11/01/2021 18:37

"@ BrightonCorgi

Funny you should say that, for that is exactly what I was wondering."

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8. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 11/01/2021 18:14

"Did Alonso have some say in this?"

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9. Posted by Lapps, 11/01/2021 17:21

"Cyril seems to be a great guy, but I suppose that is what happens when you consistently get beaten by your customer Teams."

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Abiteboul leaves Renault

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