Alpine is about to strengthen its technical structure with a major signing for Formula 1. The French team is expected to soon announce the arrival of Jason Somerville, former FIA head of aerodynamics, in a move that reinforces the bet on growth for the 2026 season.
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This arrival of Somerville comes at a time of recovery for Alpine. In a disappointing 2025, the team decided to anticipate the focus on the 2026 regulation car and has already surpassed its total points from last year, after only four rounds completed in the current season.
According to information from RacingNews365, Somerville will join Alpine’s technical management structure in a prominent role. The official announcement may happen later this week, consolidating another important change behind the scenes of the team.
The engineer ended his tenure at the FIA this Wednesday (14), where he worked for the last four years as head of aerodynamics of the highest motorsport authority. The departure was confirmed by the professional himself in a LinkedIn post.
“Last day with the FIA today,” Somerville wrote. “Many thanks to my FIA colleagues, our technical partners and representatives from FOM and the F1 teams, who made these last four years so fascinating, enjoyable and challenging.”
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In the same message, the engineer also indicated that his next professional challenge would start immediately: “The next chapter begins tomorrow…,” he said, without officially revealing the destination at that moment.
Before working at the FIA, Somerville also held the position of head of aerodynamics for Formula 1 itself for almost five years. His last experience directly in a category team was at Williams, where he stayed for almost six seasons in the same role.
Besides this stint at the Grove team, the professional also previously worked at Lotus and Toyota. Now, he is expected to take on an important role in Alpine’s attempt to consolidate its technical evolution and get closer to the front-running teams on the grid, still in 2026.
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