F1: Alpine Unveils A521 With New Blue, Red & Black Livery 

When Alpine showed off the A521 earlier in February dressed all in black, it had stated that the livery was not final - however, it came through on its promise when it showed the final car which now has the colours that represent the British and French DNA of the brand. The Alpine team which has been rebranded by the parent Renault features a Renault power plant while the core engineering of the car is quintessentially British as the chassis team is based in Enstone. The new bright blue colours represent the core Alpine branding but also has heaps of red, white and black which the company says is representative of the French and British flags.

The new colours represent the British and French DNA of the car

The car will be piloted by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso who makes a return to F1 after a hiatus of three years where he won Le Mans twice and participated in IndyCar and the Dakar rally. He replaces Daniel Ricciardo who has moved to McLaren, though his teammate is Esteban Ocon who has been with Renault for the last year. Ocon and Alonso will seek to build on the momentum of the 2020 Renault car which achieved three podium finishes including P2 for Ocon in Bahrain which was the team's best finish.

The new team also gets new management. After the exit of F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul, MotoGP legend Davide Brivio steps in as racing director while Marcin Budkowski remains executive director in-charge of the off-track operations. Both report to the new Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

A lot has not been changed in the car but more changes could emerge during testing

It should be noted for Alonso this represents perhaps his last shot at winning a third F1 world title. His last two titles came with Renault in 2005 and 2006, a team which the Spaniard has described as his home. 2021 may not be the year where Alonso actually is able to showcase his class as the Alpine A521 is expected to be in the midfield with stronger competition coming in from Aston Martin, McLaren Mercedes, Ferrari and AlphaTauri. However, with the budget cap and the 2022 regulations changes, that's when the Spaniard can shake up the grid.