In 1989, still a teenager and having just completed an electronic engineering apprenticeship, Alan applied to the Benetton F1 team for a job that happened to match his skill set. And this F1 career began as he found himself working as half of the electronics department at a time when the area was in its infancy in the sport.
With the remit expanding exponentially, he stepped to become an Electronic Engineer with the test team and, for the first time, saw an F1 car in action at Imola in 1989, with Johnny Herbert and Alessandro Nannini driving. In 1990 he moved to the race team in a similar role, before being promoted to Junior/Assistant Race Engineer in 1996, working on Jean Alesi’s car. The following year, he took over the Race Engineer role for the mercurial French driver.
Following his time with Alesi, Alan engineered a stellar roster of drivers, including Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli, but the list of drivers that Permane worked with reads like a Who’s Who of F1 talent from the mid-Nineties, including multiple world champions, Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher.
He singles out winning the 1995 Constructors’ title with Schumacher and Jonny Herbert at the wheel, as one of the main highlights of his career, along with the two-year period in 2005 and 2006, when the team won the Drivers’ title with Fernando Alonso as well as the Constructors’.
In 2007, Alan was appointed chief race engineer for Renault F1 and from mid-2011 to mid-2016 he was put in charge of all trackside engineering, after which he was made Sporting Director, a role he fulfilled until leaving the team at the end of 2023.
For the start of 2024, Alan joined Visa Cash App Racing as Racing Director, responsible for all
engineering operation at the track as well as liaison with the FIA.
He now steps up to the top step at Faenza as Team Principal, working alongside CEO Peter Bayer to spearhead the development of the team as Formula 1 prepares for an all-new era of competition in 2026.
