Alain Prost highlights the imminent shift in Formula 1, as structural and strategic changes signal the dawn of a new era.
For Alain Prost, Formula 1 is poised to enter a new era in 2025 and 2026.
The season’s end will be marked by Lewis Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Ferrari. But there is more significant movement among the engineers, a pivotal shift expected to initiate a new cycle.
For instance, Adrian Newey, the leading designer at Red Bull over the past two decades, has yet to announce his next challenge, which could well prove to be a boon for a team like Aston Martin F1.
“Clearly, yes, we are witnessing the end of an era in F1,” Prost acknowledges.
“Even today, there are people who have held key positions since the 80s and 90s, what I refer to as the golden years of Formula 1, both among the leadership and the mechanics or engineers,” he adds in an interview with GQ magazine.
“With the increase in the number of races from 16 to 24, it becomes very complicated, both physically and emotionally. It’s nearly impossible to manage one’s family life properly. Inevitably, a turnover will occur. We are, I believe, still at the beginning of the end of the cycle, if I may call it that.”
“In teams that are restructuring, it is not easy to integrate younger people who come from different professions and lack Formula 1 experience. They need to be trained. Those who think that F1 can be compared to a normal business are completely mistaken. It’s very specific. All those in large groups who thought they knew what they were doing and that they could simply apply a business model have made a fundamental error.”
“I’m not thinking of anyone in particular; I’m just saying that this has happened in some large groups. We see that people are changing slightly. We’ve seen it in the management of Ferrari and some other teams. We’ll see what happens with Audi, in particular…”
“We are clearly at the end of a cycle. The era when an engineer like Adrian Newey could sit at his drawing board and design a car from A to Z, I think that’s slowly fading. Today, the most important thing for a technical director or a team’s lead engineer is indeed to have a team that works perfectly in harmony and symbiosis, with a clear organization. Adrian Newey was a specialist in this regard, for example.”
Prost on Alpine F1: Creating a Positive Atmosphere Is Essential
Alain Prost was involved in the revival of the Renault / Alpine F1 project before the four-time world champion was unceremoniously ousted by the management team led by Luca de Meo, CEO of the group, and Laurent Rossi, then director of Alpine.
Alpine is experiencing a rather challenging season in F1 and a great deal of turmoil.
What does Prost believe needs to be fixed?
“I think there is a desire to reorganize and change things. It is necessary to recreate a positive atmosphere, even if the results are not immediate. It’s important to inspire people to keep fighting. We need to initiate a fundamental movement to reach the top again.”
“F1 is very complicated technically, but the human and psychological aspects are crucial for the drivers and those who work internally,” he confides to GQ.
Prost was precisely an advisor for Renault / Alpine F1 from 2017 to 2022, focusing on the human aspect.
“I tried. And not just with the drivers but with everyone. A team is 1,200 people. A Formula 1 team is very particular: there are 80 to 90 people who travel to the circuit and over 1,000 in the factories or elsewhere who never see the cars race. Formula 1 serves as an example.”
“I often see this in companies I work with. There’s a driver who finishes the job, two cars involving 1,200 people, and cutting-edge technology… The championship has 10 teams, each fighting for tenths of a second. The margin between good and bad work is very narrow.”
The Frenchman admits he no longer has “much desire” to return to a role in F1.
“I’ve moved in other directions. Being 100% for 24 races, I’m not sure I want to go back to that.”
“I am working in the industry with a team developing energy storage and charging systems for electric cars.”
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Formula One Marks the End of an Iconic Era Formula One Marks the End of an Iconic Era. f1 2024 Formula One Marks the End of an Iconic Era
