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Why Alpine are looking to change their works status and take a customer engine supply
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Alpine are in the midst of a rebuild and, as part of that, Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo has recalled Flavio Briatore to the fold as executive adviser and dug into all aspects of how the F1 operation can evolve.
That included considering taking a customer power unit supply deal, as confirmed by Bruno Famin on Friday at Spa during a press conference where he also announced he would be leaving his role as Team Principal after just 12 months.
READ MORE: Alpine confirm Bruno Famin to leave his role as Team Principal
Alpine have big ambitions. They want to be fighting at the sharp end of the field. It looked like they were on the verge of doing just that after finishing P4 in 2022 but they’ve dropped back into the midfield and seen nearly all their senior staff depart the team over the last 18 months.
It's no surprise, then, that De Meo – whose Renault Group owns the Alpine brand – is assessing all options to find a path back to the front as efficiently as possible.
Bruno Famin will be leaving his role as Alpine Team Principal
Sources say Alpine have had talks with rival power unit manufacturers about the potential for a customer engine supply deal for 2026 should they decide to reallocate resources in their own power unit division.
Those talks have now become focused with one provider – Mercedes. Recently, Toto Wolff said he would be open to supplying another team in 2026 as a replacement for Aston Martin, who will run Honda power.
Knowing that Mercedes are open to such an arrangement means they were able to begin an exploratory study into the feasibility of reallocating resources from the F1 engine project in Viry, France, to other parts of the Alpine business, whether that’s road cars, Hydrogen powertrains or other motorsport projects, including the World Endurance Championship.
Staff at Viry – made up of around 300 employees, of which 200 work on F1 – were informed on Tuesday that a study was taking place that could ultimately lead to the F1 project ceasing to exist with resources – including people – being reallocated to other divisions.
Renault's CEO Luca de Meo has recalled Flavio Briatore as executive adviser
Such a study in France is a long and thorough process because of the number of stakeholders involved, from Renault executives and trade unions to the mayor and local prefecture and thus a decision is not expected imminently.
“The project which has been presented at the beginning of the week to the staff representatives in Viry-Châtillon is to reallocate the resources from one side to another, one side being the development of the Formula 1 power unit, which is being made in Viry, to dedicate those resources and skills to developing new technologies for the brand, for the new product of the brand,” said Famin.
“And then, one of the consequences of this project, if it's accepted, would be then for Alpine F1 team to buy a power unit instead of developing its own power unit. And then we'll have more resources to develop the brand and a different power unit to race for the Formula 1 team.”
He added: “A very important thing in the project which has been presented: every single employee will be offered a job. There is no redundancy at all. And we are doing everything to make potentially – because again, it's still a project, but if it's confirmed – to make a very difficult moment as less painful as possible. But we know it's never easy, this kind of thing.”
Famin explains why he’s stepping down as Alpine Team Principal
Famin continued: “The project which has been presented to the staff representative in Viry and to different governance bodies, is talking about ‘26 onwards on the power unit, clearly. And of course, we are talking to different PU manufacturers.
“For the time being, of course, nothing is done because, again, it's a project. We have to follow, you know, in France, unions, we have a social process, very strict to follow. And we have to follow it very strictly. And we cannot take any decision until [we have] reached the end of that process. For that, I mean, we are talking to some PU manufacturers, but we cannot sign anything until this process is over.”
A switch to Mercedes power would be a coup for Alpine, given the Silver Arrows have been the class-leader during the hybrid era and are expected to react well to regulation changes to be introduced in 2026.
READ MORE: FIA Team principals press conference – Belgium
Whereas once it was considered necessary to have a works engine supply to genuinely fight for the World Championship, Mercedes-powered McLaren are currently proving otherwise.
Should a deal go through, Alpine’s F1 mindset can be focused on the chassis side and integration project with Mercedes rather than pumping resource into their own engine project that has yielded the least competitive power unit for several years now.
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