This Alpine Is Fernando Alonso’s New Company Car

Alpine has taken the wraps of its new 2021 F1 machine, and its no surprise to see it’s decorated in the firm’s classic blue livery.

Alpine is a new name in F1, but the French sports car maker has a long history in motorsport. The company’s Renault-based sports cars won dozens of races and rallies in the 1960s and 1970s before Renault stepped in to save it from financial oblivion.

Renault resurrected the brand in 2017 for the Porsche Cayman-rivalling A110, and now it’s pushing into motorsport’s top tier. The Alpine team is essentially the same Renault outfit that came fifth in last year’s F1 season, and the 2021 Alpine A521 racer is an evolution of last year’s Renault RS20. Alpine will be the only team on the grid running Renault engines now that McLaren has switched back to Mercedes power.

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The Alpine’s blue and red color livery gives it a very different look to last year’s Renault, however, and it’s not the only thing that’s changed. The driver line-up is also new. Daniel Ricciardo has defected to McLaren, and his spot alongside Esteban Ocon is taken by two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso.

Alonso recently suffered injuries to his jaw that required surgery after he fell off his road bike. But Alpine’s boss, Laurent Rossi, assured fans – and those all important sponsors – that Alonso would be fit for pre-season testing, and the opening race of the year in Bahrain later this month.

Spaniard Alonso was F1 Champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, and finished third driving a McLaren in 2007. He also came second behind Sebastian Vettel three times, but never quite replicated his early success and has been out of F1 for two years.

Not that he’s spent the time kicking his heels. Alonso won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Toyota in 2018 and 2019, won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019, and was the World Endurance Driver’s Champion the same year.