Tremor in Alpine: Luca de Meo resigned as CEO of Renault

The man who generated the landing of Flavio Briatore and who most firmly supported the F1 project, resigned from his position. It will continue in office until July 15.

The unexpected news fell as a bucket of cold water: Luca de Meo presented his resignation to the position of CEO World of Renault, a brand that owns Alpine, which has official representation in Formula 1 with the team in which Franco Colapinto runs. The news came a while after the end of the 24 hours of Le Mans and while the details for the beginning of the F1 Canada GP were finalized. In fact, the Italian Pope made a public appearance in the circuit of La Srthe, where Alpine ended tenth in the mythical endurance competition that belongs to the Wec won by the Ferrari of the AF Corse.

“After five years at the head of the Renault Group, Luca de Meo has announced his decision to leave office to undertake new challenges outside the automobile sector. The Board of Directors, chaired by Jean-Dominique Senard, thanked Luca de Meo the turn and transformation of the Renault group, and has agreed that his march becomes effective on July 15, 2025. Luca de Meo will continue to perform his functions. The Board of Directors has launched the process of appointing a new general director on the basis of the already defined succession plan.

De Meo assumed the position in July 2020 (in the middle of the pandemic) and in the sports plane, he was the man who made the most force within the group to maintain the official representation in Formula 1, beyond the bad results. It was under his mandate that the change of name of the team was decided to pass from Renault to Alpine in 2021 (Directive for all the brand’s competition teams in the world) and in 2022 he spoke of a long -term project. In 2024 he had to placate the rumor that indicated a possible sale of the team based in Estone. “It is not my style. We will not sell a part of this. We do not need money. They have made offers right and left and then have talked about it in the press. But we are not interested. It would be stupid, and I will not,” said De Meo then.

Since 2016, when the rhombus returned as a comprehensive team to the F1, seven team directors passed. The last one on the list is Flavio Briatore, the strong man who returned to F1 precisely from De Meo in 2024. The Italians have a great relationship and the Renault CEO asked him for help to carry out the Alpine project. The Piedmontés accepted joined Team as executive advisor. In fact, that remains his formal position, because the address was taken in a provisional way until someone definitively joins. How can De Meo’s departure influence the future of BriTore? Moreover, could a possible sale of the team take another way without meo?

Flavio responds only to De Meo and his position will be subject to the determination that the new CEO takes. As for the future of the team, the closure of the motor program promoted by Briatore to make Alpine a Mercedes client team from 2026 was, for many analysts, the largest step given to end the sale of the structure. The denial of that noise came again from Meo. Now we will have to expect what the Board of Directors think and the person who occupies the position of Milanés.

In the middle is Franco Colapinto. The Argentine arrived at the team with the fundamental support of the duo of Meo and Brost, who bet strongly to take it from Williams. The Buenos Aires was anointed as head of Alpine in replacement of Jack Doohan after the Miami GP and, according to the official statement of that time, for five races, a deadline that expires in Austria, the next appointment. De Meo was in the first three races of Franco in the circuits (Isola, Monaco and Barcelona) and lacked Canada because he went to Le Mans. The present of the Alpine team, last in the World Cup, without team director and, now, with the resignation of the brand’s CEO, paints a complicated panorama.