What new Alpine F1 boss Brivio makes of Alonso’s ‘demanding’ character

New Alpine F1 racing director Davide Brivio has revealed his first impressions of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso...
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault F1 Team RS20.
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault F1 Team RS20.
© xpbimages.com

New Alpine Formula 1 racing director Davide Brivio has already recognised that Fernando Alonso is “quite demanding”, but says that attitude is exactly what the team needs.

The two-time world champion is making his return to F1 this year for his third stint at the Enstone-based Alpine squad after two seasons away from the sport competing at events such as the Le Mans 24 Hours, Indianapolis 500, and Dakar Rally.

Alonso’s comeback has coincided with Brivio’s arrival at Alpine in the newly-formed role of racing director, having made the switch from MotoGP after leading Suzuki to its first championship titles since 2000 last season.

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The Spaniard, who claimed back-to-back world championships with the team under its previous Renault guise in 2005 and 2006, has earned a reputation for being difficult to manage and even controlling within a team environment.

Asked whether he felt it Alonso’s character would be hard to deal with, Brivio replied: “No, I don’t think so. We had just some first chats, and he felt like a very normal guy, just extremely motivated, extremely willing to find and to put together everything necessary to get the best out of the car, the best out of the team.

"He’s not coming back just to drive a car, he’s coming back to try to get some good results, and to get some satisfaction. Yeah he’s quite demanding, but that’s what I like. We need this type of driver that’s really keen to put everything together to try to [get] the maximum.

“So I welcome this kind of attitude and this kind of approach, and of course we will have to work together as best as possible in order to use his abilities and his potential.”

Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault F1 Team.
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault F1 Team.
© xpbimages.com

Brivio says his early impressions of Alonso have been overwhelmingly positive, describing the 39-year-old as “extremely motivated” to help Alpine achieve success.

“We have a guy which is a great champion and also I can feel [that] he is extremely motivated,” Brivio explained.

“He’s coming back into a difficult sport, a difficult environment while he was enjoying different activities, so his desire to be back in the most difficult championship and to fight against everybody shows how strongly motivated he is.

“I can feel [this] chatting with him, you can see how hard he is working, how strong is his desire to be back. So I’m sure he will put in all his effort. If we were to be capable to give him a good package, for sure he will be able to fight for the great positions, yes.”

Alonso said he was “excited” by Brivio’s arrival to the team, adding: “he has a lot of experience in MotoGP and I’m sure he will find surprises in F1, some good and some he thinks we can do better with, so it will be interesting.”

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