The Renault Group - who have spoken of a 'Renaulution' with sweeping changes to their strategy - want to promote the Alpine brand, a "symbol of French excellence", as the high-performance end of its road-car range. And put simply, F1 is the perfect way to do just that.

 

That means you can get used to Alpine F1 being a team name on the grid, although it will still be a 'Renault' engine.

What exactly is Alpine?

Although a new name to F1, Alpine have made racing and sports cars since the 1950s and - after being bought by Renault in 1973 - have worked closely with their fellow French manufacturers since. The Alpine name has been used periodically for Renault's rallying and endurance programmes, and an Alpine-Renault won the 1973 World Rally Championship, and the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Alpine ceased production in 1995 but the marque was revived in 2017, before Renault decided to give its brand the ultimate platform in F1.

Will there be a big change to the livery?

Renault have raced in yellow and black since returning to F1 in 2016, but the Alpine A521 will be one of the few cars on the grid this year with a major livery overhaul. A black 'winter livery' with the French tricolour flag colours, and an Alpine 'A', at the back of the car has already been teased - and it's expected that there will be a brand-new, and predominantly blue, look at the launch.

Why blue? Well, Renault's Alpine motorsport cars have always been that colour, for one, while it has been made clear since Alpine's 2021 place was confirmed that the French flag colours would be prominent on the new car. So, get ready for quite a bit of red and white on there, too.

A blue livery also makes sense given Alpine's big winter signing, a certain double Renault F1 world champion this season who won his 2005 and 2006 crowns in that colour…

Who are the drivers?

Fernando Alonso returning to F1 after two years away is blockbuster for Alpine and gives them maximum prominence for their first season. Alonso is the ideal replacement for Daniel Ricciardo, who has left for McLaren, and partners Esteban Ocon - the Mercedes junior who didn't quite hit the heights expected of him in his debut Renault season last year.

ALPINE A521 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Chassis Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, manufactured by Alpine F1 Team and designed for maximum strength with minimum weight. Renault E-Tech 21 power unit installed as a fully-stressed member.
• Front suspension Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones operate an inboard rocker via a pushrod system. This is connected to torsion bar and damper units which are mounted inside the front of the monocoque. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.
• Rear suspension Carbon fibre top and bottom wishbones with pull rod operated torsion bars and transverse-mounted damper units mounted inside the gearbox casing. Aluminium uprights and OZ machined magnesium wheels.
• Transmission Eight-speed semi-automatic carbon maincase gearbox with reverse gear. “Quickshift” system in operation to maximise speed of gearshifts.
• Fuel system Kevlar-reinforced rubber fuel cell by ATL.
• Electrical MES-Microsoft Standard Electronic Control Unit.
• Cockpit Removable driver’s seat made of anatomically formed carbon composite, with six-point harness seat belt. Steering wheel integrates gear change paddles, clutch paddles, and DRS.

E-TECH 21 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS