Alpine may abandon works Renault engine to become customer F1 team
Alpine are reportedly consideri♋ng becoming a customer F1 team from 2026.
Alpine could ditch their works Renault engine in favour of becoming a customer F1 team from 2026, according to reports.
reports that Alpine are considering this direction and have alrea💫dy “opened talks with rival manufacturers about th🅘e possibility of securing a customer deal”.
Such a move would see Alpine shut 🔯down their Renault power unit operation, which is based at Viry-Chatillon in theไ suburbs of Paris.
Renault have struggled with🍸 their po🍎wer unit performance for several years and are currently lagging behind their rival F1 engine manufacturers.
According to Autosport, Alpine team principal Bruno Famin has been “pondering the situation over recent weeks” and is in the process of weighing up alternative opti🐭ons.
Alpine could seek to do a deal with Red Bull Powertrains, who will supply both Red Bull and sister team RB when new engine r🅠egulations come into effect from 2026.
Mercedes could be an alternative option for Alpine as the German manufacturer wil🅘l lose a customer in 2026 when Aston ꩵMartin switches to Honda power.
Mercedes previously supplied Alpi🍬ne under their♑ previous Lotus guise in 2015.
Honda, who are returning to F1 from 2026 to power Aston Martin, could be another solutiꦆon for Alpine.
Amid rumours of a pos🦄sible sale, Renault CEO Luca de Mꦿeo recently reiterated his commitment to the future of the Alpine F1 outfit.
"It's not my style. We will not sell even a part of this thing. ﷽W꧙e don't need the money,” De Meo told Autocar.
“I’ve had peop💝le making offers left and right, then talking in the press about it. But we're not interested. It would be stupid, and 𓆏I won't do it.”
However, De Meo admitted that the competitiveness of Renault’s power uni♉t has underwhelmed since the V6 hybrid era began in 2014.
"When we began the hybrid era [in 2014], our engine didn't perform. We had been world champions꧙ with Red Bull but with hybrid, things went wrong,” he ackno🌃wledged.
"Even the engine we developed in 2021 had a 0.2s to 0.5s disadvantage every lap. And this year we've screwed up with the car. If♈ you combine everything, we're up to 1.5s from wheꦺre we need to be.”
Alpine are enduring a difficult 2024 campaign and currently lie eighth in the constructoꦕrs’ championship, h♏aving scored just five points across the opening nine races.
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