Renault CEO To Meet Aggrieved Staff Regarding Closure Of 2026 Alpine F1 Power Unit Program

Saajan Jogia | Sep 17, 2024

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

Renault CEO Luca de Meo has agreed to meet the aggrieved staff at Alpine's power unit facility in Viry-Châtillon as he considers the future of the company's F1 engine program, which is under threat of being shut down due to rising expenditure.

Renault is seriously contemplating shutting down its in-house F1 power unit program at Viry and transitioning Alpine to a customer team for the upcoming 2026 engine regulations. Reports suggest that the Enstone outfit could use Mercedes' power units in the new era of regulations in less than two years time.

Renault's staff at the Viry-Châtillon and Enstone factories were informed in July of an evaluation study for a project that could see the engine division shift away from its current F1 activities. This led to protests both at Monza's Italian Grand Prix and back at the team's base.

Staff members expressed concerns that shutting down the F1 program would deal a severe blow to France's technology sector. They also argued that the Viry engine project for 2026 showed far more promise than it had been given credit for. Employees, who had been working passionately on the project for a long time, intend to continue seeing Alpine as a works outfit in the premier class of motorsport.

Following the protests, de Meo revealed that no final decision had been made regarding the future of Viry's F1 engine program, as the board of directors was still undecided on its long-term strategy. An internal deadline of September 30 has been set to determine the division's future direction. Thus, the staff at Viry demanded a meeting with the CEO before the deadline, especially after feeling their voice hadn't been heard by Renault's top management.

Fortunately for the staff, de Meo has agreed to meet and discuss with staff representatives on the 20th of September. Revealing in an official statement, the social and economic council (CSE) of Alpine Racing said, as reported by Motorsport.com:

"The social and economic council (CSE) of Alpine Racing, the engine manufacturer for the French Formula 1 team, has announced that it has arranged a meeting with Luca de Meo, Chairman and CEO of Renault Group, on Friday 20 September 2024 in order to bring to his attention the incomprehension surrounding the end of F1 engine development in France at the Viry-Chatillon site, a unique technology in France.

"The staff representatives thank Mr de Meo for responding favourably to this request."

Formula 1 would be left with only five engine suppliers starting in 2026 (Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, Audi, and Red Bull Powertrains) if Alpine decided to become a customer team.