Renault F1 Engine Staff Fight For Alpine Reconsideration After Closure Announcement

Renault F1 engine staff are battling against plans to switch to Mercedes engines in 2026, arguing that it would jeopardize Alpine's brand identity.

May 3, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Alpine driver Pierre Gasley (10) races into turn one during F1 practice at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

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

A bold petition spearheaded by the Social and Economic Council of Alpine employees has been delivered to Renault CEO, Luca de Meo, challenging a move to Mercedes engines in 2026.

The proposed change, set to replace the current $120 million development cost with a $17 million annual expense for Mercedes engines, is lauded by management as a financially sound maneuver. However, employees argue that this move could gravely alter Alpine’s brand identity, replacing its core with what they describe as a “Mercedes heart.” The statement reads, as reported by Motorsport.com:

 “The Group's management plans to stop the 2026 programme at Viry-Chatillon and opt for an engine supply, probably from Mercedes.

“The reason given is a significant direct saving, trading development costs of $120 million for $17 million in annual supply.

“We do not understand what justifies killing this elite entity that is the Viry-Chatillon site and betraying its legend and its DNA by grafting a Mercedes heart into 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 damage their images, which is why we ask Mr. De Meo and his board of directors to renounce this decision.”

The Viry team also highlighted their accomplishments with the AR26 project, particularly the RE26A engine that surpassed several performance benchmarks during testing — including exceeding 400kW output and achieving 48% thermal efficiency.

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

“The target was to start the first Alpine 2026 engine at the end of the first half of 2024, one and a half years after the genesis of the project.

“On 26 June 2024, the RE26A, the name given to the first 'factory' version of the AR26, carried out its first start-up on engine bench no. 6 at Viry-Chatillon, thus marking a success in terms of the targeted deadline.

“On this first engine, almost a third of the performance concepts, previously validated on the system bench, are still absent, planned for introduction before the end of 2024. However, the first test results are promising.

“The RE26A is seen by all the Viry-Chatillon teams as a great success, a well-born engine with a clear potential, a year and a half from the first race, to raise the ambitions of Alpine F1 team.”