The Alpine F1 team said the decision to change their structure was made as part of the restructuring that began in November 2021.
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The Alpine F1 Team has announced the promotions of Pat Fry to Chief Technical Officer and Matt Harman as Technical Director.
The French team said the decision was made as part of the restructuring that began in November 2021.
“Alpine F1 Team is pleased to announce the promotions of Pat Fry to the role of Chief Technical Officer and Matt Harman as Technical Director,” the team said in a release.
“This decision is part of a new organization designed to maximise the team’s performance, initiated in November 2021.
“Their mission is to contribute to developing the car’s performance to achieve the objectives defined by Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, and Laurent Rossi, Alpine CEO, to fight for the championship within 100 races after Alpine’s arrival into F1.”
“We are considerably strengthening Alpine by having Pat and Matt at the helm of Engineering in Enstone,” said Rossi.
“Pat is one of the most experienced engineers in Formula 1, while Matt’s drive and expertise will prove critical in extracting the full potential of our race cars, thanks in particular to his unique expertise combining chassis and engine development.”
The move is the latest in a long line of changes being made at the French team. But as of now, it is too early to tell if the moves will reap any benefits.
The year began with Martin Budkowsky leaving the team, which was a bit of a surprise. However, the bigger surprise was the departure of Alain Prost.
The mult-time world champion was at the team in a consultant’s role. But he chose to not extend his deal at the end of the 2021 season.
Afterwards, he made some pointed remarks in the press about the nature of the exit. Yet it was a clear sign that Rossi was serious about changing the structure of the team.
But that being said, there is a key position in the team yet to be filled – team principal.
Budkowsky served as the de-facto team principal last year. But the complex leadership structure of the team meant he never actually held that position.
A number of reports have linked former Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer to the role. Szafnauer left Aston Martin after the 2021 season, being replaced by Mike Krack.
But as things stand, he has not yet been appointed at Alpine. There is, however, plenty of time for that to change before the start of the 2022 Formula 1 season.
