The two new brands which have entered the 2021 F1 season, Alpine and Aston Martin, have announced their launch plans for the championship.
Alpine will reveal its 2021 Formula 1 car, the A521, on March 2nd. Aston Martin will present its new car at 3pm the day after. Both teams will hold virtual launches.
The A521 will be the first Formula 1 car launched by Alpine since it took on the name of Renault’s performance sub-brand for this season. Renault’s rebranding as Alpine was announced in September last year and an interim version of the team’s livery was presented by Renault in January.Fernando Alonso, who will make his return to Formula 1 this year with Alpine, suffered a fractured jaw following a cycling accident last week. He was released from hospital yesterday and is expected to complete his recovery in time for the start of the season.
Alpine has appointed Davide Brivio as its new racing director in place of Cyril Abiteboul. Brivio arrives at the team following a successful spell running Suzuki’s Moto GP programme.
Renault returned to Formula 1 as a full constructor in 2016. Last year the team scored its first podium finish since rejoining the series.
Get all the 2021 F1 race weekend session times plus test and launch dates on your mobile device using the RaceFans F1 Calendar
Don't miss anything new from RaceFans
Follow RaceFans on social media:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2021 F1 season
- Las Vegas race backers looking to extend F1 deal beyond 2025
- Why Mercedes put ‘a reminder of joy and pain’ on display in their factory lobby
- Verdict on error in GT race suggests Mercedes would have lost 2021 Abu Dhabi GP appeal
- Title ‘stolen’ from Mercedes made us ‘underdogs people cheer for’ – Wolff
- Red Bull Racing spent £230m during Verstappen’s title-winning 2021 campaign
Sacha Gortchakoff (@gosac)
16th February 2021, 15:29
still hoping that they do not skip this cool alpine blue
Konstantinos
16th February 2021, 19:52
I really like it too. Did they say it was a placeholder livery? I can’t remember anymore but I hope they at least keep the colors.
Tommy Scragend
17th February 2021, 8:11
Yes, the black was an “interim” livery.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
17th February 2021, 7:51
The A521 you say? Not the most enjoyable road to drive, but good to see Cheadle on the map.
What a terrible name. I presume that the A = Alpine and 21 is the year, but the 5?
Tommy Scragend
17th February 2021, 8:10
The best placed finish they can hope for?
thatscienceguy
17th February 2021, 13:20
I assume it’s a reference to the Renault-Alpine A500. Alpine built the car in 1975 to act as a test-bed for Renault’s 1.5L V6 turbo F1 engine, which was being developed at the time. It never raced but tested extensively, and if anyone asked, it was apparently explained away as being an F2 car.
The A500 ended up not only being a development prototype for the engine, it was also developed aerodynamically as well, undergoing a full wind tunnel programme.
In 1977 Renault Sport (which contained the remnants of Alpine’s racing department) entered F1 with the RS01, but arguably, the A500 was Alpine and Renault’s first F1 car.
Here’s some details about the engine and the A500: https://www.collierautomedia.com/alpine-is-revived
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
17th February 2021, 18:10
Interesting. Thank you 👍