Alpine has confirmed that Davide Brivio will be leaving the team at the end of 2023 following recent links with a possible return to the MotoGP paddock.
The Alpine Formula 1 team has surprisingly announced that they are mutually parting ways with Davide Brivio who oversaw the development of the team’s young talent for the French team as Director of Racing Expansion Projects.
The Italian had previously informed media that he had a contract in Formula 1 upto 2024, so the news was somewhat of a surprise.
Brivio was appointed as Alpine’s race director in January 2021 after the Italian had successfully led the factory Suzuki MotoGP team before moving to Formula 1.
But in 2022, his role at Alpine changed, shifting away from direct participation with the Enstone team and into a mission focused on the French team’s young driver program.
“It has been a proud chapter in my motorsport career to be involved in Formula 1 with Alpine,” Brivio said. “I would like to thank Alpine for the opportunity to experience Formula 1 which was my desire and also for the chance to pass on some of my experience in motorsport onto its young drivers in the Alpine Academy.
“I wish the team and the Academy the best in the future and I’m sure we will see many young drivers go on to achieve fantastic things in their careers.
“To play a small part in some of that success will certainly be something I will cherish. I am grateful to Alpine for accommodating my wish to pursue other opportunities which may arise in the future.”
Brivio’s Alpine departure marks yet another major organizational transformation for the group in 2023, following the departure of CEO Laurent Rossi and the appointment of Philippe Krief in his place.
Other exits include former team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane along with chief technical officer Pat Fry who defected to Williams.
All of this happened while the Alpine team dropped from fourth to sixth place in the 2022 Formula 1 constructors’ championship, its lowest result since 2017. Julian Rouse will remain in charge of Alpine’s Academy program, Alpine has revealed.
In recent months, Brivio—a former team manager for Yamaha’s MotoGP project and a person that helped establish and manage Suzuki’s championship-winning MotoGP team—has been linked to a number of MotoGP projects over the last few months.
Relentless speculation has it that Brivio may unseat Repsol Honda team principal Alberto Puig, but Honda insiders maintain Puig’s job is secure.
It’s unclear how safe his job is exactly as Puig is greatly admired by both riders and colleagues at Repsol Honda. However, Puig and HRC had a lot of conflict regarding rider selection, contract length and combinations of the two during the Marc Marquez replacement search.
Furthermore, there have been rumors of a comeback to Yamaha. Maio Meregalli is the team manager currently, but with plans to expand to four bikes in 2025—when the VR46 squad is expected to move to Yamaha—Brivio, who has a long relationship with Valentino Rossi and his racing enterprise, may play a significant role in luring VR46 aboard and assisting in the revival of Yamaha’s performance.
There are further roles that Brivio could fill as it is currently unclear who will be leading the Trackhouse MotoGP team in 2024. Though it is commonly anticipated that Wilco Zeelenberg will assume the same roles as he did for the RNF squad, which will be replaced by Trackhouse Racing.
Rumors have also surfaced suggesting that former MXGP champion Tony Cairoli will serve as a test rider for Paolo Ciabatti, the head of Ducati’s new motocross project.
However, Ciabatti has expressed no desire to resign from his position as Sporting Director for both WorldSBK and MotoGP, and considering the remarkable success of the previous two seasons—winning the championship in both series—there isn’t much of a reason for him to do so.
Without a doubt, we’ll soon find out where Davide Brivio ends up as the Italian is well-liked and will have doors opened for him within the MotoGP paddock.
