“Laurent Rossi wants all the light” – Alain Prost reveals reason for leaving Alpine

Alain Prost has claimed that Alpine F1 boss Laurent Rossi was behind his exit from the team earlier this week. The former F1 world champion left his role as the non-executive director of the Enstone-based, which he had held since the 2019 season.

Prost has accused Rossi of being “jealous” of “a lot of people” within the team. He futher claimed that the latter “wants all the limelight” for himself. In an interview with the French newspaper L’Equipe, the Frenchman said:

“Laurent Rossi wants all the light. His desire is to be alone, not to be polluted by anyone. He told me he no longer needed advice. There is a real desire to put a lot of people on the sidelines.”

Alain Prost:

When the team boss (Laurent Rossi) doesn’t even say hello to you when you arrive at the circuit, there’s no more fun.

Alain Prost: When the team boss (Laurent Rossi) doesn’t even say hello to you when you arrive at the circuit, there’s no more fun. https://t.co/PE0tI5GlJn

Prost has revealed that his contract with the team expired at the end of last year, and he chose not to renew it due to the way he was treated throughout 2021.

“I was no longer involved in the decisions. Sometimes I did not even share in them at all, but I had to continue to put out the official word. Even as a member of the board of directors, I discovered certain decisions at the last minute. It’s a question of respect. I felt that there was a lot of jealousy.”

Prost has been with Renault’s current F1 operations since its takeover of the Lotus team in 2015. Until 2019, he served as an advisor to the team and later took the more senior position of non-executive director. It was similar to the late Niki Lauda’s role at Mercedes.

Alpine’s management reshuffle continues as the team suffers a setback on track

Laurent Rossi was appointed as Alpine’s CEO last year following the F1 squad’s rebranding from Renault. Since the rebranding was announced, the French team has undergone significant organizational changes, with several high-profile members of the team departing from their roles.

Cyril Abiteboul, who led Renault’s entry into F1 as a manufacturer in 2016 was shown the door at the end of 2020. Marcin Budkowski, who was the de facto team principal of the team in 2021, also left his role earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Rossi has been on a hiring spree, bringing in talent from other categories of motorsport. Davide Brivio was recruited from Suzuki’s MotoGP operations to take over as racing director.

More than five years after their return to F1 as a works team, Alpine-Renault are still stuck in the midfield. They have failed to achieve their goal of fighting for the championship.

Ahead of the 2021 season, the team was expected to be in a good position to fight for the top 4 in the constructors, especially Fernando Alonso’s arrival.

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However, the team struggled to understand their car throughout the season and could only salvage P5 after a breakthrough late in the season. Despite Esteban Ocon’s victory in Hungary, the newly rebranded team’s performances were underwhelming. Heading into 2022, Alpine will be hoping to finally break into the top three and challenge the top teams for the championship.