Davide Brivio

Davide Brivio, the Alpine Formula 1 racing director, has ruled out a return to MotoGP team management this year. Brivio led Team Suzuki Ecstar from its comeback to MotoGP in 2014 through the end of the team’s championship-winning 2020 season, after which he joined Alpine. He was a part of a convoluted management structure there, with responsibilities shared among himself, Laurent Rossi, and Marcin Budkowski. The Italian’s return to two-wheel competition has sparked speculation, with a return to Suzuki or a seat with the VR46 Racing Team being suggested as the most likely options. On the other hand, Otmar Szafnauer was rumored to have defected from Aston Martin to Alpine, a claim the American would refute. Brivio’s return to the Hamamatsu marque in November has been ruled out by Suzuki’s project chief, Shinichi Sahara. “MotoGP is not an option for 2022 at the moment,” Brivio said in an interview. “I’m in F1 and we’re working on next season so we can sort out how to get organised with Alpine…. in fact, I hope to continue; for this very reason, I am thinking of nothing else.” This comes Despite Sahara admitting that taking on the role of squad manager was “far too much” for him. Suzuki had chosen not to immediately replace Brivio in 2021, instead delegating his tasks to a number of people, with Sahara bearing the brunt of the extra workload.