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Budkowski on Abiteboul exit: We were ready for the season

Budkowski on Abiteboul exit: "We were ready for the season"

05-03-2021 16:43 Last update: 18:10
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GPblog.com

Marcin Budkowski will take on the role of team principal along with Claude Brivio at Alpine F1 Team in 2021. The Pole says that almost everyone was shocked by the departure of former team boss Cyril Abiteboul.

Unexpected exit of Abiteboul

With the name Renault, Cyril Abiteboul also disappeared from Formula 1. His tasks are now done by Budkowski and Brivio at Alpine. Despite the rumours going around for some time, Budkowski speaks about a surprise when Abiteboul actually had to leave.

"It was obviously a surprise for everyone when we found out", Budkowski is quoted by Autosport.com as saying. "But we were already ready for the season, the project was very committed." The Pole continued by saying that the coronavirus did not make Abiteboul's job any easier either. "Cyril, in his role, was already struggling to get to Enstone regularly, thanks to COVID. His presence and absence did not change the dedication of the project."

The new CEO already showed up at Enstone

More changes were made at Alpine when Laurent Rossi was announced as CEO of the brand. "Laurent recently came to Enstone for a few days. He then met many people, saw the car and the development project and we also told him about the 2022 plans. We have reorganised ourselves quickly. We have a new team and we have clear, unchanged goals", concludes Budkowski.