The biggest shock of F1 launch season? Alpine sign French football legend
Zidane joins Alpine as brand ambassador and sponsor of its equality opportunities programmes, including Rac(H)er and the Concours Excellence Mecanique.
He wasn’t the only high profile signing of the evening, with Olympic champion Nicola Adams also joining the team.
Zidane is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all-time, while many natives think he’s France’s best-ever.
Speaking at the launch event, the former Juventus and Real Madrid midfielder said: “I’m very happy to be here today and to spend a great evening with you. I’ve seen great things and I’m ever so happy to be part of this team, to be part of the Alpine team, to be with you tonight.”
Explaining why he decided to join Alpine, he added: “Why? It’s always a meeting that is starting something and I know that I had the opportunity to meet Laurent [Rossi, team director] with Davide [Brivio, racing director] and the whole team.
“The Alpine team, for a Grand Prix and I think we had a good exchange, we shared everything together and I think Alpine and Laurent had a project to give the opportunity to young people.
“To have their opportunities for all the young talent. I was very interested in this project and I said ‘why not see us again?’
“We are talking about it tonight and we are all together here tonight.”
Alpine’s new driver for 2023 - Pierre Gasly - admitted he didn’t “have the words” to describe Zidane’s arrival.
“I don’t think I have the words,” he said. “Since I was a kid I’ve been a huge fan of him. My racing number, number ten, is partly thanks to him. I started playing football when I was five until I was 11-years-old.
“Definitely the biggest legend or icon in France. I’ve been able to spend like half an hour with him backstage and I was asking him tons of questions about his experiences, his career. He’s a very, very inspiring person.”
