Alpine Team Principal Offers Brutal Verdict On F1 Engine Project Closure At Viry Chatillon

Saajan Jogia | 5 Hours Ago

Nov 18, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; BWT Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon of France (31) drives during the Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images / Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Alpine's new team principal Oliver Oakes, who was recently appointed to his role after the summer break, has offered a brutal verdict of parent company Renault's decision to shut Alpine's 2026 power unit project at its Viry-Chatillon factory in France. The decision, taken by the board members will see Alpine's conversion from a works team to a customer team in the premier class in less than two years.

The final decision from Renault's board came on September 30th, just days after Alpine's factory staff made a final plea to CEO Luca de Meo, urging him to reconsider the plan to transition Alpine into a customer team in Formula 1.

The staff argued that discontinuing the F1 program would severely impact France's technology sector, claiming that the 2026 engine project held far more potential than acknowledged. After years of dedicated work on its development and the promising results shown by the 2026 power unit, the team was determined to keep Alpine as a fully-fledged works team in Formula 1.

Before Renault announced its verdict on the 2026 power unit project, Oakes revealed in an interview with RacingNews365 that there was "a lot of admiration and respect for everybody at Viry from everyone within the team."

Despite the noise surrounding Alpine, the new team boss admitted he was more concerned about having a good engine so the team could win races, regardless of where it came from. He said:

"I guess, cruelly, for me as the team principal, I just want to have the best engine and go racing. That's the crux."

When asked if Alpine would lose its identity after it loses the engine manufacturer status, Oakes said:

"I would say there's a big history there from the Viry and Enstone side.

"But I would also say on the other side, if you're winning, no one really cares what's under the hood - and I mean that nicely."

Renault announced that the 2026 power unit facility would be transformed into 'Alpine Hypertech,' a state-of-the-art engineering hub dedicated to pioneering advanced technologies for future Renault and Alpine road vehicles. Adding light to the new initiative, Alpine CEO Philippe Krief said in a statement:

"Creating this Hypertech Alpine centre is key to Alpine's development strategy and, more broadly, to the Group's innovation strategy.

"It is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Châtillon site, which will ensure the continuity of a savoir-faire and the inclusion of its rare skills in the Group's ambitious future while strengthening Alpine's position as an 'innovation garage'.

"Its racing DNA remains a cornerstone of the brand. It will continue to fuel an unprecedented industrial and automotive project, thanks particularly to Hypertech Alpine."