On a weekend when the French F1 outfit announced the exit of team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane as part of a shake-up, Prost has voiced his dismay at what has become of the squad.
The Frenchman, who was an advisor and non-executive director for the Renault/Alpine squad from 2015 until 2022, thinks that the French sportscar maker has made a critical error in allowing too much corporate influence.
“I love this team, and I am saddened and distressed to see it in its current state,” he said in a lengthy interview with L’Equipe.
“It deserves better and has everything it needs to succeed. I simply believe you need to rely on history to understand what went wrong.
“If you look at the great success stories from the last 30 years, you will see a simple structure – unlike an industrial organisation chart – built around three or four strong personalities, coupled with a winning driver.”
Prost cited examples of Jean Todt working with Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, Mercedes having Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda and James Allison alongside Lewis Hamilton and Christian Horner and Adrian Newey’s alliance helping deliver titles for Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
He also said that on all occasions, the parent companies were also run by CEOs who understood and supported the efforts of the F1 team – something he thinks is sorely lacking at Renault.
Source: Autosport