Alpine, the unknown story of Fernando Alonso's team

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To understand the history of Alpine, we must first know that of Jean Rédelé, the founder of the legendary sports car company. Passionate about cars since he was a child, Jean was the son of Madeleine Prieur and Emile Rédelé, a former mechanic for the driver Ferenc Szisz, who had won the 1906 Sarthe GP as an official Renault driver.

Emile had a brand dealership in the town of Dieppe, which had been opened at the request of Louis Renault himself. Years later, and after studying business in Paris, Jean would become his father's successor at the head of the Dieppe dealership, when he was only 24 years old.

Rédelé considered that racing, booming at the time after the end of the Second World War, was the best test bench for street models, and that victory was the best selling argument. For this reason, in January 1950 he began to compete with the Renault 4 CV-his own car-in the Monte Carlo Rally.

Although he did not manage to finish the race in time to enter the classification, he did not give up the competition and months later he won the Dieppe Rally, on his land and against forty competitors. Renault proposed him to participate in the 'Monte' the following season with the "1063", the competition version of the 4CV; he accepted and finished fourth.

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Rédelé accumulated several successes and good results in races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia -where he won in his class-, the Tour de France, the Tour of Belgium or the Criterium of the Alps. As they competed, they continued to optimize Renault mechanics and prepare the French models for racing.

"When I have had the most fun it has been touring the Alps aboard the Renault 4 CV. That is why I have decided that my cars be called "Alpine". My clients had to enjoy driving the car that I wanted to build", said Rédelé, explaining the origin of the Alpine brand.

The Frenchman, aware of the potential of his company, capable of providing light and high-performance vehicles that could offer sensations to racing lovers, founded Alpine on June 25, 1955 and launched the A106, which was based on the 4 CV , and which would later evolve into the A108 in a saloon version.

The founder of Alpine continues to compete, win and enjoy rallies such as the Mille Miglia or the Criterium de los Alpes, already under his own brand. The A110 would arrive, which was based on the Renault 8, and Alpine would make rally history. The brand, which we remember began to compete in Monte Carlo, reached its first podium finish in this legendary event in 1969 with Jean Vinathier and the Alpine A110.

Two years later, Ove Andersson achieved victory and led a legendary treble completed by Jean-Luc Thérier and Jean-Claude Andruet. Thanks to this, they achieved the international brand championship. In 1973, with six wins in a thirteen-race season (including another hat-trick in Monte Carlo), Alpine beat Fiat to win the first World Rally Championship.

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The (failed) F1 project and victory at Le Mans

Alpine's successes in rallies lead the brand to think about competing and fighting for victory in other mythical categories, such as F1. They had the support of the French government through the Elf oil company, and the engineers had free rein to develop a model that would have to fight with the McLaren, Lotus... of the time.

Richard Bouleau, the brand's engineer, came up with an innovative "flat" suspension concept that was supposed to improve cornering, braking and traction. He was also Michelin involved in the project. The engine was to be a Renault-Gordini V8.

In 1968, the Dieppe company built the F1 prototype, called the A350, and it was tested by Mauro Bianchi on circuits as demanding as Zolder (Belgium) or Zandvoort (The Netherlands). There are problems to be solved, but also a lot of potential to be unlocked. There was even a date for the model's debut, at the French GP.

But Renault adamantly refused to use its V8 in Formula 1, since they did not see themselves with any chance of beating the Ford Cosworths that were due at that time, and the project was discarded.

The diamond brand would end up buying 70% of Alpine in 1973 due to the oil crisis, and that was the beginning of the end for the brand's racing activities, as the sports division (not the road car division) became renamed Renault Sport and become Renault's racing department.

At that time, Renault was already beginning to think about Formula 1 at the same time that it was competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1975, Renault decided to develop a 1.5-litre version of the engine with which they raced in endurance. Jean Pierre Jabouille began testing this unit in 1976 in an F1 prototype called the A500 (above).

After miles and miles of testing, and bringing the knowledge of endurance to F1, Renault F1 debuted in 1977. Supported by Alpine, although the company's name did not appear, the diamond company began its journey in F1.

The beginnings with the RS01 were not easy due to reliability problems, but over time it would become one of the rivals to beat. In resistance, under the name Alpine Renault, in 1978 this legendary binomial with victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the A442B prototype, piloted by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and Didier Pironi.

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2021: Renault Sport 'returns' to being Alpine

By order of the new CEO of the Renault Group, Luca de Meo, Renault Sport is once again Alpine and since 2020 it is the company in charge of managing all the Group's sporting activities. Among them is Formula 1, where the brand is represented - after the two failed attempts already mentioned - with the Alpine A521.

Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and a great team of talented engineers - some of whom already led Renault to success in 2005 and 2006 - are working so that, with the launch of the new regulations in 2022, the Enstone team is once again among the first places in the World Cup starting next year.

Jean Rédelé, who passed away on August 10, 2007 in Paris, can be proud of that small company that he founded more than 60 years ago. Now, even a two-time F1 champion like Alonso enjoys the sensations he referred to when he drove through the Alps, both in competition and on the road, where Alonso drives an Alpine A110S.