Formula 1 Team Profile

BWT Alpine.

One win in five seasons — and it came from the least likely afternoon of 2021.

Alpine is the name Renault gave its works Formula 1 team in 2021, run from the Enstone factory in Oxfordshire. This page covers the team under the Alpine name; the same factory’s earlier history as Benetton and Renault is a separate story.

Base
Enstone, Oxfordshire
First entry
2021 Bahrain GP
Renamed from
Renault, 2021
Power unit
Mercedes (2026)
Win
Ocon · Hungary 2021
Read the full history
125
Races Entered
As Alpine, since 2021
7
Podium Finishes
1
Grand Prix Win
Ocon, Hungary 2021
0
Pole Positions
Overview

What Is BWT Alpine?

Alpine is the works Formula 1 team of the Renault Group, named after Renault’s French sports-car marque and based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. Renault rebranded its own team as Alpine for the 2021 season, keeping the same factory, staff and entry.

The team won a Grand Prix in its first year under the new name. Esteban Ocon led the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix from a chaotic first lap and held Sebastian Vettel off for the whole race — Ocon’s only win, and Alpine’s.

Nothing since has matched it. The team has taken seven podiums in five seasons and no pole positions, and from 2026 it runs Mercedes power units after Renault stopped building Formula 1 engines. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto are its drivers.

Era 01 · 2021—2022

The Rename, and a Win

Renault's works team became Alpine for 2021, with Fernando Alonso returning to the sport alongside Esteban Ocon. The change was a marketing decision — the factory, the staff and the entry all stayed the same.

Then Hungary. Ocon came out of a first-lap pile-up in front and stayed there, holding Sebastian Vettel off for 70 laps for the team's only victory. Alpine finished fifth that year and fourth in 2022, its best result.

BWT Alpine Esteban Ocon driving in side profile at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix Enstone · Ocon holds off Vettel at the Hungaroring
Era 02 · 2023—2024

The Difficult Middle

Alonso left for Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly arrived, and the team slid down the order. Two seasons of management changes and a public argument about whether Renault should keep building its own engines followed.

The answer came in 2024: Renault would stop, and the team would become a customer.

BWT Alpine Pierre Gasly driving in side profile during the 2024 season A works team becoming a customer team
Era 03 · 2025—Present

Mercedes Power

From 2026 Alpine runs Mercedes power units, ending Renault's long history as a Formula 1 engine builder and making the Enstone team a customer for the first time since the 1990s.

Pierre Gasly leads the driver line-up with Franco Colapinto alongside him.

BWT Alpine Pierre Gasly driving with Mercedes power units during practice at the Japanese Grand Prix Enstone · the first season on Mercedes power
Team Timeline

Alpine Timeline

2021

Renault Becomes Alpine

The works Renault team is renamed Alpine and debuts at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso returning to Formula 1.

2021

Victory in Hungary

Esteban Ocon wins the Hungarian Grand Prix, holding off Sebastian Vettel for the whole race — Alpine's only win to date.

2022

Fourth in the Championship

The team's best constructors' result under the Alpine name.

2023

Gasly Replaces Alonso

Pierre Gasly joins as Fernando Alonso leaves for Aston Martin.

2024

Renault Stops Building Engines

Renault decides to end its Formula 1 engine programme, making Alpine a customer team.

2026

Mercedes Power

Alpine runs Mercedes power units for the first time, with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto driving.

Sources

  1. Alpine team profile · Formula1.com (official)
  2. Alpine F1 Team · Wikipedia — career totals read from the infobox, and the 2021 Hungary win
  3. It's a 100-race project — Laurent Rossi outlines Alpine's roadmap · Formula1.com — October 2021, source of the quote
  4. Photo — Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 2021 Austrian Grand Prix · Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  5. Photo — Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 2024 Austrian Grand Prix · Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  6. Photo — Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 2025 Japanese Grand Prix · Liauzh via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  7. Photo — Alpine A521, 2021 Austrian Grand Prix · Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  8. Photo — Alpine A522, 2022 Austrian Grand Prix · Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  9. Photo — Alpine A523, 2023 Austrian Grand Prix · Lukas Raich via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  10. Photo — Alpine A525, 2025 Japanese Grand Prix · Liauzh via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  11. Logo — Alpine F1 Team logo · Alpine F1 Team, via Wikimedia Commons via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · rendered from SVG and resized
Machinery

Four Cars That Made Alpine

2021 Fernando Alonso driving the Alpine A521 in blue at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

Alpine A521

The first car under the Alpine name, and the only one to win. Esteban Ocon took the Hungarian Grand Prix, and the team finished fifth in the constructors' championship.

2022 Esteban Ocon driving the Alpine A522 in blue and pink at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

Alpine A522

Fourth in the constructors' championship — the best finish Alpine has managed, and the closest the Enstone team has come to the front since the rename.

2023 Pierre Gasly driving the Alpine A523 in blue and pink at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix

Alpine A523

Sixth in the constructors' championship. The blue-and-pink BWT livery had settled in; the results had not.

2025 Jack Doohan driving the Alpine A525 in blue and pink at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix

Alpine A525

Tenth and last in the constructors' championship, with twenty-two points — a record high for a team finishing bottom of the table.

Drivers in Blue and Pink
EO
Esteban Ocon
2021—2024 · won Hungary 2021
FA
Fernando Alonso
2021—2022 · 2 titles with Renault
PG
Pierre Gasly
2023—present
OP
Oscar Piastri
Alpine academy graduate
FC
Franco Colapinto
2026
The 100-Race Project
“It's going to be every year a bit better. It's a 100-race project, four years, four seasons.”
Laurent Rossi, then Alpine CEO, October 2021
Frequently Asked

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Alpine won a Formula 1 race?
Once. Esteban Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, leading from the first lap and holding off Sebastian Vettel.
What was Alpine called before?
Renault. The works Renault team was renamed Alpine for the 2021 season, after Renault's sports-car marque. The same Enstone factory raced as Benetton before that.
What engine does Alpine use?
Mercedes power units from 2026. Renault ended its Formula 1 engine programme, so the team is a customer for the first time in decades.
Where is Alpine based?
Enstone, Oxfordshire, England. The engines were built at Viry-Chatillon in France while Renault still made them.
Who drives for Alpine?
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon drove for the team in its first seasons.
What does BWT stand for in the team name?
BWT is a water-technology company and the team's title partner, which is why the cars carry pink alongside Alpine blue.
How has Alpine performed?
Its best constructors' championship result under the Alpine name was fourth, in 2022.
The Collection

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