Former Alfa Romeo technical director and Ferrari engineering boss Philippe Krief, who joined Alpine in early March, has been appointed as Rossi’s successor.
He’ll proceed in his function as vp of engineering and product efficiency till additional discover and report back to Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo.
Rossi “will now concentrate on particular initiatives linked to the transformation of the Group”.
De Meo stated: “I wish to thank Laurent for his unwavering dedication during the last two years on the helm of Alpine.
“Laurent has set out a transparent and impressive technique for the model. He has put Alpine in the absolute best place to attain its long-term objectives.
“Alpine is now able to enter a brand new section of its improvement and to grow to be a model of the long run. take Alpine to new heights.”
This variation on the prime arrives scorching on the heels of Alpine restructuring its racing senior administration set-up, with F1 engine chief Bruno Famin promoted to vp of Alpine Motorsports.
He was to report on to Rossi, with Szafnauer in flip going to Famin.
Rossi was appointed to the highest job at sportscar agency Alpine in January 2021. His remit additionally coated the general administration of the F1 crew.
He changed Cyril Abiteboul, who was on the helm from 2014 as Renault poorly tailored to the 1.6-litre turbo hybrid guidelines and confronted heavy criticism from engine buyer Crimson Bull.
Because the F1 crew was rebranded from Renault to Alpine for 2021, Rossi outlined an formidable 100-race plan to develop the crew into a daily podium contender come the 2024 season.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523
Photograph by: Erik Junius
Whereas Esteban Ocon scored an unlikely victory within the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, the crew has solely logged one additional top-three consequence since. Ocon completed third within the 2023 Monaco GP.
Final 12 months, Alpine was praised for out-developing McLaren to complete fourth within the constructors’ championship and got down to shut the hole to Ferrari, Mercedes and Crimson Bull this season.
Nevertheless, amid a poor begin to the marketing campaign – exacerbated by unreliability and penalties – Alpine has fallen to sixth behind McLaren and Aston Martin forward of the Hungarian GP this weekend.
This troublesome begin to the time period prompted Rossi to rearrange an interview with French TV community Canal+ forward of the Miami GP in Might. He used the platform to blast his crew as “amateurish”.
Given the heightened scrutiny, many believed crew principal Otmar Szafnauer to be below heightened strain to maintain his job.
This additionally adopted Alpine’s dealing with of the 2022 driver market when it misplaced two-time champion Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and protege Oscar Piastri to McLaren.