It is not new news that the French team based in Enstone is at the center of chaos, with several of its employees losing out. In home Alpine the new victim appears to be himself Rob White, the director of operations after 20 years of service. His departure had been in the air for a while, only materializing on Wednesday.
Alpine's decision on Rob White
Rob White, 58 years old, has worked at Alpine for 20 years, first joining Renault in 2004 as deputy general manager of engines. Only in 2016 his permanence was consolidated, taking on the role of director of operations in the English office in Enstone.
His stay in the French team, however, was short-lived since the arrival of John Wood who, from McLaren, arrives in Alpine to take the place of new operations director. A gesture that made White feel "overtaken".
Precisely on the basis of the McLaren project, the team principal Famin tries to rebuild a team that finds itself in an extremely difficult situation. After theI join the team of 3 technical directors (Ciaron Pilbeam for the performance area, Joe Burnell for engineering and David Wheater for aerodynamics) Famin seeks to revolutionize the team from within.
That the team is paying a internal chaos what goes with its performance is evident. The decline was probably due to the resignation of Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry in the middle of last year's Spa weekend. The drivers also don't make the season easy, Pierre Gasly ed Esteban Ocon. The latter would risk his race in Montreal, but also his stay in the team.
Alpine's confirmation of the BBC's announcement
The news of the farewell of Rob White took place this Wednesday from the British newspaper with the BBC in which we read the following from the French team.
«As part of the team's broader operational restructuring, we can confirm White's departure. The team is grateful for Rob's commitment throughout his long career at both Enstone and Viry-Chatillon, where he spearheaded the championship-winning engine design in 2005 and 2006. We wish him all the best in his endeavors future."
