Helmut Marko Proposes a radical shift: Alpine’s Sale to Andretti Could Pave the Way for American Entry into Formula 1.
Amidst the fervor of Formula 1’s evolving landscape, a groundbreaking proposition has emerged, echoing through the corridors of motorsport. Helmut Marko, the strategic mind behind Red Bull’s racing endeavors, has cast a visionary idea into the realm of possibility.
He envisions a monumental shift where Alpine, the Renault-owned F1 team, could find new ownership under the auspices of the American outfit, Andretti.
The journey, however, has not been without its challenges. The prevailing sentiment among established teams has been lukewarm towards the newcomers’ aspirations, leaving a question mark hanging over the viability of these ambitions.
Nevertheless, amidst this backdrop of skepticism, a glimmer of support emerged from an unexpected quarter – Alpine emerged as one of the two teams that threw their weight behind Andretti’s endeavor. The other? McLaren, as revealed during Michael Andretti’s strategic interactions with team leaders at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix.
“Andretti should buy Alpine,” Marko told Sport1.
“That would be best for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its 10 teams, Andretti could finally get in and Renault would still be involved.”
Marko also mentioned previous F1 Commission conversations about the known lack of performance in the Renault power unit, which Alpine is the only team to use.
A number of ideas have been proposed to restore parity, but Mercedes and Ferrari are vehemently opposed to the introduction of Balance of Performance (BoP), which Marko agrees with.
“I can understand Alpine’s problems. It is not just about engine performance,” he said.
“If you are too far behind in performance, you will have to make compromises with the car set-up to compensate for a lack of speed on the straights – which can amount to a loss of time of up to three-tenths of a second.
“That comes at the expense of the driving characteristics of the car.
“We were not against it with Renault – but it must be clearly demonstrated that the performance gap is significant.
“It must be ensured that measures are taken that do not weaken the rest of us, the decision has therefore been put on hold [while further talks take place.]”
