Alpine chief Luca de Meo sacked could now look to buy the F1 team after Renault CEO’s resignation

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Alpine now have a potentially uncertain future in Formula 1 after Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo resigned after five years to move to Gucci and Balenciaga owner, Kering.

News broke from the French automotive giants during the 2025 F1 Canadian Grand Prix that De Meo had quit to explore ‘new challenges’. The Italian oversaw a host of strategic changes to the Renault car business, and also the Alpine F1 Team, but will leave for Kering on July 15.

De Meo was the mastermind behind the Renault team rebranding as Alpine before the 2021 F1 season to help promote the sports car brand. He also personally hired Flavio Briatore as an executive adviser on the Alpine F1 Team in June 2024 for the Italian’s return to Enstone.

Together, Briatore and De Meo obtained Alpine a Mercedes engine supply for 2026, as well, with the Enstone natives gaining the power units that Aston Martin will leave to be Honda’s new works F1 team. De Meo closed Renault’s F1 engine factory to stop being a works team.

Cyril Abiteboul could see that Hyundai buys the Alpine F1 Team after Luca de Meo quit as Renault’s CEO

Now, questions loom over Briatore’s role at Alpine after De Meo left Renault to take charge of Kering. Doubts are also now emerging about the team’s Formula 1 future, with fears that De Meo’s successor might not want to keep Alpine in F1 with Renault still to hire a replacement.

While the world waits for the Renault Group to hire a new CEO to replace De Meo and who can clear the doubts concerning Alpine’s future in F1, Auto Action also reports that Hyundai could buy the team. Ex-Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul is Hyundai’s motorsport boss.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

De Meo sacked Abiteboul in January 2021 in a shock move as the Enstone squad rebranded from Renault to Alpine. But the Italian’s departure might now open the door for Abiteboul to see that Hyundai joins the F1 family by buying Alpine if Renault decides to offload the team.

Why did Luca de Meo sack Cyril Abiteboul as the Renault F1 Team rebranded as Alpine?

Abiteboul was the sole man in charge of the Renault F1 Team from 2017 to 2021, but he was quickly shown the door after De Meo left SEAT to become the CEO of the Renault Group. De Meo did not think Abiteboul could lead the Alpine F1 Team to where he wanted them to be.

“That question is a bit complicated,” De Meo explained to RTL Germany in April 2021 about why Renault sacked Abiteboul, via quotes by RacingNews365. “We started a new adventure and for the old people, it would have been difficult to steer the team in this new direction.”

Renault took sixth, fourth, fifth and fifth in the F1 constructors’ standings under Abiteboul in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively. Alpine have since achieved fifth, fourth, sixth, sixth and, currently, 10th in the 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (after 10/24 rounds) standings.

Alpine sit last in the 2025 constructors’ championship ahead of round 11 at the Austrian GP this weekend, having scored just 11 points. Aston Martin and Sauber are their nearest rivals in eighth and ninth place with 22 and 20 points prior to the Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.