Alpine’s Formula 1 team has decided to run the season without an official team principal. Instead, the team has decided to split the responsibilities across two senior managers. This comes as a consequence of the rebranding of the company from Renault to Alpine, which culminated in a management overhaul last winter. At that time, former team boss Cyril Abiteboul also left the French car manufacturer and left an open spot for his position.
Marcin Budkowski and Davide Brivio Will Manage The Formula 1 Team
Laurent Rossi, Alpine’s road car CEO has decided to use a structure with no direct replacement for Abiteboul. Instead, the former responsibilities of the team principal will be split between the new racing director, Davide Brivio, and executive director Marcin Budkowski. Rossi also said that both of the managers would have clear areas of responsibility, and there was no need to make any additional changes after the previous season.
Laurent Rossi Explained the Roles of the Two Senior Managers
Rossi said that Marcin will be in charge of the development of the powertrain and chassis and coordinating the entire development of the car, while Davide will be the racing director. According to him, that would allow the managers of the Formula 1 team to work in tandem and get the best out of the car that was designed to put Alpine in the best position. He added that the rest of the team would simply keep their existing line structures.
Budkowski commented as well and said that there were other teams who had decided to not have a single boss running them, and he believed the situation could work well. He also pointed out that although the structure was slightly different, the roles and responsibilities of everyone were perfectly clear. He also joked, saying that because they were a French Formula 1 team, they had to put a bit of a French touch in the organizational structure as well!
Budkowski explained that managing a team while going to every race was very difficult, but with Davide on board, he could now rely on a person with a lot of trackside experience and many different soft skills.
This Electric Car Has Just Broken the 400-Mile Mark
A concern that some drivers have about electric vehicles is how long the battery will last. One electric car manufacturer has just broken the 400-mile barrier, proving that electric cars can be just as reliable as regular vehicles. But which car manufacturer was it?
The First
There was always going to be a first electric vehicle (EV) to break the 400-mile mark, and it probably won’t surprise many people to learn that it was Tesla. The EV company has continued to innovate and improve upon its design, with the latest Model S giving customers more miles than ever before. The Model S Long Range Plus was given an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles. That represents an almost 20% increase in driving range from the 2019 Model S 100D, which has the same battery pack design.
It Gets Better
Elon Musk had already made claims that Tesla had vehicles capable of reaching 400 miles earlier in the year. In April 2020, Musk had claimed the Environment Protection Agency had actually made a mistake when testing the Model S. The Tesla CEO explained that the EPA had left the keys inside and the car door open overnight before testing the Model S.
Musk estimated that mistake would have reduced the Model S battery life by 2%, meaning the car could travel even further. While the company continues to make improvements in its battery performance, Musk has also made promises to improve other aspects of their vehicle range. The Tesla CEO has also been looking at ways to improve both the handling and acceleration of the company’s electric vehicles.
Tesla has been at the forefront of the electric vehicle movement pretty much from the beginning. The electric car company’s Model S can now go further on a single charge than ever before, meaning cross-country adventures might be back on the menu.