Renault F1 engine staff fight for rethink at Alpine after closure announcement

Renault's F1 engine department is fighting for Alpine to reconsider its decision to become a customer team from 2026.

Renault CEO Luca de Meo was presented with a courageous petition led by the Alpine employees' social and economic council opposing a switch to Mercedes engines in 2026.

The proposed change, which would replace the current $120 million development cost with an annual $17 million spend on Mercedes engines, is being praised by management as a financially sensible maneuver. However, employees argue that the move could seriously alter Alpine's brand identity, as its core would be replaced by what they describe as the “Mercedes heart.” The statement reads, as Motorsport.com reports:

“The Group management plans to stop the program in Viry-Chatillon in 2026 and opt for an engine supply, probably from Mercedes.

“The reason given is a significant direct saving, as development costs of $120 million are exchanged for annual delivery of $17 million.

“We do not understand what justifies destroying this elite unit that is the Viry-Chatillon site and betraying its legend and its DNA by implanting a Mercedes heart in our F1 Alpine. [car].

“The announcement of the end of the development and production of French power units for Formula 1 is incomprehensible.

“We cannot accept that Alpine and the Renault Group are damaging their image, which is why we call on Mr De Meo and his board to resign from this decision.”

The Viry team also highlighted its successes on the AR26 project, particularly the RE26A engine, which exceeded several performance benchmarks in testing – including over 400 kW of power and 48% thermal efficiency.

“More than a hundred groundbreaking concepts were studied, of which almost a third demonstrated significant performance on the test bench and were to be introduced in the future Alpine engine: the AR26.

“The aim was to have the first Alpine 2026 engine in operation at the end of the first half of 2024, a year and a half after the project was born.

“On June 26, 2024, the RE26A, the name given to the first 'factory' version of the AR26, was launched for the first time on engine test bench No. 6 in Viry-Chatillon, representing a success in terms of the target date.

“This first engine is still missing almost a third of the performance concepts previously validated on the system test bench, which are scheduled to be introduced before the end of 2024. However, the first test results are promising.

“The RE26A is considered a great success by all Viry-Chatillon teams, a well-built engine with clear potential to boost the ambitions of the Alpine F1 team a year and a half after its first race.”