Alpine confesses to not treating Fernando Alonso the way it should have

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso quit Alpine (formerly known as Renault) in 2022 after just two seasons due to boiling tensions over contract extension. Now, over two years later, Renault CEO Luca de Meo has confessed that they mistreated Alonso and didn't handle his exit properly.

Alonso, who won two world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, joined the rebranded Alpine back in 2021 after a year-long hiatus from F1. He instantly left his mark by securing a podium in the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, also the team's first podium finish since 2013.

However, as his contract was up for renewal in 2022, Alpine was reluctant to offer him a long-term extension contract, citing his age. Moreover, the French team was keen on promoting promising junior driver Oscar Piastri.

Ultimately, Fernando Alonso signed with Aston Martin in 2023 after Sebastian Vettel retired in 2022. Meanwhile, Renault CEO Luca de Meo has now admitted that Alpine didn't treat the two-time champion right and lost an amazing talent.

Talking to Car and Driver, de Meo said:

"He’s an amazing guy, and he slipped away from the Alpine team. It was our mistake. Maybe we didn’t treat him the way we should have, but we still have a very good relationship."

Alonso's exit proved to be the beginning of a series of catastrophic events for Alpine. They prematurely announced Oscar Piastri as Fernando's replacement for the 2023 season without having a signed contract in place. Piastri publicly denied joining the team in an infamous tweet. He instead joined McLaren and marked his F1 debut in 2023.

That being said, Alonso also had a terrific debut season with Aston Martin in 2023, as he finished P4 in the title race with 206 points, including eight podium finishes.

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Flavio Briatore explains how Alpine management mishandled Fernando Alonso

Flavio Briatore with Fernando Alonso at Formula 1 Testing in Bahrain - Day 3 - Source: Getty

Fernando Alonso's former manager, Flavio Briatore, lashed out at Alpine management for mishandling his client's contract extension talks in 2022. He claimed that Renault's then CEO, Laurent Rossi, disappeared amid negotiations. He added that Alpine was incompetent since they lost both Alonso and Piastri.

Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport in December 2024, Briatore said:

"Fernando wanted to stay because the season before wasn't that bad. We wanted to sign the contract in Canada. Then Laurent Rossi (then CEO of Renault, ed.) suddenly disappeared. We could no longer reach him. Then I started talking to Lawrence Stroll from Aston Martin."

"We even had an offer from Williams. I said to them, Get your shop in order first. In the end, we signed with Aston Martin because we didn't get along well with Alpine's management. The mistakes were made by the management. Surely it takes a fair amount of incompetence when you lose two drivers like Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri in one summer."

Interestingly, after Flavio Briatore's F1 ban was lifted, he joined Alpine as executive advisor, a year after Rossi exited the team as CEO in 2023.