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Operations Director Rob White, who has been with Alpine for 20 years, has been sacked
Now former Alpine Operations Director Rob White. (Image Credit: @Formula_Nerds on X)The French team left the Monaco Grand Prix with mixed emotions. While Pierre Gasly scored his first point of the season, Team Principal Bruno Famin didn’t mince his words regarding Esteban Ocon’s lap one crash with his teammate. Ocon’s place at the team now looks increasingly under threat.
But the destabilising headlines don’t stop there for Alpine. The Enstone-based team has seen a dramatic amount of change in the last year, and now the team has sacked veteran Operations Director Rob White. The 58-year-old has been with the team for 20 years and was present during Fernando Alonso’s time as double world champion. A spokesperson from Alpine released the following statement regarding White’s departure:
“As part of the team’s wider operational restructure, we can confirm the departure of Rob White. The team is thankful for Rob’s efforts during his long career both at Enstone and at Viry-Chatillon, where he led the championship-winning engine project in 2005 and 2006. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
The French team’s troubles have not been a paddock secret. Now, with Andretti being encouraged to purchase an existing Formula One team to enter the sport, could Alpine disappear from the grid?
The timeline of Alpine’s most notable departures in the last year
White has not been the first notable figure to leave the team in the last year, and he very well may not be the last. The major changes started to come in at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix weekend. At Spa, then Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane were both sacked. The latter joined RB this season as their Sporting Director. Additionally, Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry also left the team to join Williams.
The exodus has only continued in 2024. Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer both left the team following their lacklustre start to the season. Design Engineer Bob Bell shortly followed the duo. Bell now works for Aston Martin.
However, the French outfit has also been working on rebuilding and restructuring the team. First, Alpine saw a raft of celebrity investors including actor Ryan Reynolds, NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and world champion boxer Anthony Joshua. In terms of personnel, they have recently hired David Sanchez as their Executive Technical Director after he left McLaren.
Will the exodus continue or can Alpine turn it around?
Feature Image Credit: @AlpineF1Team on X