Alunni Bravi lands wide-ranging McLaren role after Sauber exit

Ex-Sauber managing director and team representative, Alessandro Alunni Bravi, has joined McLaren in the team’s newly created role of chief business affairs officer.

Alunni Bravi will report directly to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and as part of his new remit will head up McLaren’s driver development programme.

He will start his new job on 1 February 2025.

In a team statement released on Thursday, McLaren announced that Alunni Bravi’s role will also including legal affairs, driver contract management and what it calls “rights holders/governing body management”.

“McLaren is a team I have been a huge fan of my whole life, and it therefore sparks special emotions personally to have the opportunity to now work with such an amazing group of people,” said Alunni Bravi, who worked at Sauber from 2017 until the start of this year.

“I’m so grateful to be joining such a great organisation with the values and culture that are so clear to see from the outside.

“I want to reward the trust and confidence that Zak and the board have put in me by giving my full dedication and effort to help contribute to the continued success, as I believe teamwork is key to everything.

“I am so happy to be joining a team that I truly believe sets the benchmark in F1 both on and off the track, and I can’t wait to get started at the beginning of February.”

Brown added: “I’m delighted to have Alessandro joining us with his extensive expertise and motorsport background.

“Alongside managing our legal and driver development functions, he will also provide invaluable support on all professional driver business management matters, racing governance activities across our various rights holders and governing body relationships and broad business support to all our racing series as needed.

“We look forward to welcoming him to the McLaren Racing family in February.”
McLaren has also announced several other changes to its management structure.

With Alunni Bravi heading up its young driver programme, Stephanie Carlin has been transferred to what McLaren’s statement called “additional responsibilities within Formula 1, continuing to report into [team principal] Andrea Stella”.

Carlin was previously McLaren’s team business operations director.

After two years in the role, McLaren Racing’s chief communications officer, Steve Atkins, is stepping down for personal reasons at the end of February.