Alpine F1 Team

The team entity has a long history, first competing in Formula One in 1981 as Toleman, when the team was based in Witney, England.[2] In 1986, following its purchase by Benetton Group, it was renamed and competed as Benetton. As Benetton, it won the 1995 Constructors' Championship and its driver, Michael Schumacher, won two Drivers' Championships - 1994 and 1995.[3] Prior to the 1992 it moved to its current location in Enstone, UK.[4] By the 2000 season, Renault had purchased the team (for the first time), and by the 2002 season its name was changed to Renault F1 Team, and it was racing as Renault.[5] Renault won the Constructors's Championship in 2005 and 2006 and its driver, Fernando Alonso won the Drivers' Championships in the same two years.[6] In 2011, Lotus Cars came onboard as a sponsor, and the team's name changed to Lotus Renault GP, though still racing as just "Renault" for that season.[7] By 2012 Genii Capital had a majority stake in the team, and from 2012 until 2015 the team's name was Lotus F1 Team, after its branding partner, and it raced as "Lotus". At the end of 2015 Renault had taken over the team for a second time, renaming it to Renault Sport Formula One Team.[8][9] The team raced as "Renault" again, from 2016, and continued as such until the end of the 2020 season.[10]

The involvement of the sportscar manufacturer Automobiles Alpine in Formula One can be traced back to 1968, when the Alpine A350 Grand Prix car was built, powered by a Gordini V8 engine. However, after initial testing with Mauro Bianchi at Zandvoort, the project was ended when it was found that the engine produced around 300 horsepower (220 kW) compared to the Cosworth V8 engines' 400.[11] In 1975 the company produced the Alpine A500 prototype to test a 1.5 L V6 turbo engine for the Renault factory team which would eventually début in 1977.[12][13][14][15]

In September 2020, Groupe Renault announced their intention to use "Alpine" as their works team's new name going forward to promote the Alpine marque and thus the team is set to become known as the "Alpine F1 Team" whilst retiring the "Renault F1 Team" moniker after five years.[10]

Alpine will have former Renault Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon driving for them in their début season. They are due to use Renault engines.[10] Cyril Abiteboul left Renault as they transitioned to Alpine.[16]