Alpine signs David Sanchez as Executive Technical Director
After leaving McLaren earlier this year, Alpine F1 Team has today announced the appointment of David Sanchez as Executive Technical Director, marking a return to Enstone for the French engineer.
In the newly created role, Sanchez will oversee the technical department based at Enstone and will have overall responsibility of the Performance, Engineering, and Aerodynamic areas of the team.
Sanchez will manage the three key areas that fall under the recently announced three-pillared technical structure, with Ciaron Pilbeam (Technical Director - Performance), Joe Burnell (Technical Director - Engineering), and David Wheater (Technical Director - Aerodynamics) all reporting to him.
The Frenchman will join the team today and will report directly to Team Principal and VP, Alpine Motorsports, Bruno Famin.
Sanchez started his career in Formula 1 at Enstone as a Junior Aerodynamicist for the Renault F1 Team in 2005, the same year the team won both Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships.
He brings with him a wealth of experience working for top teams in Formula 1 with successful stints at McLaren and Ferrari. He remained in Maranello for over 10-years where he led the Aerodynamics department and later worked as Head of Vehicle Concept.
Time to get to work 💪
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) May 2, 2024
Bruno gives his thoughts on our latest appointment. pic.twitter.com/PFJmgRngTu
Commenting on the announcement, Sanchez said: “I’m excited by this challenge at Alpine. I’m looking forward to working at Enstone again, the place where I started my Formula 1 career.
"This team has always had so many fantastic people involved and there is clearly so much potential to unlock. We have a big task ahead to improve on-track performance and it is this type of challenge that motivates me. I’m very much ready to begin and look forward to working with the Enstone-Viry technical teams again with the sole aim of bringing regular success back to this great team.”
Team Principal Bruno Famin commented: “I am delighted to welcome David back to Enstone, where he started his career back in 2005. This is a key appointment to ensure we are optimising everything we do as a team and focusing on the right performance areas.
"It is clear that the performance of the car and development path has not moved at a sufficient pace relative to our ambitions as a team. We look forward to welcoming David and working hard together to achieve the ultimate success.”
