The news known since this summer has now become official. Mercedes will supply Alpine with its power units with a gearbox from 2026 to 2030. Thus ends the era of Renault in F1, which however will still have 2025 to try to get some satisfaction.
Alpine and Mercedes together: Renault leaves after a decade of disappointments
Since 2014, everything has gone wrong for Renault. After victories as a constructor in 2005 and 2006 and after Red Bull's domination from 2010 to 2013 as an engine manufacturer, the great French brand has run into a decade of bitterness. This is due to the new regulations regarding engines, which for ten years now have required the construction of a very complex and expensive turbo hybrid power unit. Over time, Renault has never managed to improve, seeing its partnerships with other teams increasingly reduced. Many will remember the well-known dispute between Horner e Newey of Red Bull and Cyril Abiteboul, former team principal of the Renault F1 team. The Austrian team then courageously preferred to switch to Honda, a choice that proved to be a winning one. Finally, McLaren also abandoned the French supplier in 2021.
The last victory of a Renault power unit, the only one in the last ten years not signed by Red Bull, was in the 2021 Hungarian GP. The winner was Esteban Ocon ahead of Sebastian Vettel (later disqualified) and Lewis Hamilton. From that moment on, nothing, with Alpine that, at the beginning of this year, was forced to compete for the lower positions of the standings. Today, the return of Flavio Briatore to the team, despite his questionable past, is leading to a strong revolution within the French team. In fact, as he himself told Sky after the Brazilian GP, they are doing "some spring cleaning". The improvements on the track have already been seen in part, with Alpine that has returned to compete at least for a points finish.
A partnership that has caused much discussion: the results before the history and the people
The agreement between Alpine and Mercedes over the summer has caused quite a stir. The changes so desired by Briatore will lead to several layoffs. In fact, the power unit development program based in Viry-Châtillon, a historic Renault plant, will soon be closed. For this reason, over the last few months there have been so many protests of the French company's employees, which apparently had no effect. Furthermore, although of lesser significance, there is a whole identity issue behind this matter.
Renault has contributed to writing the history of this sport. Many triumphs in the past, both as a team and as an engine manufacturer. Yet history and prestige were not enough. The choice to switch to Mercedes engines is a shock, but also a decidedly drastic decision, which passes on the identity of the team. Of course, in Formula 1 you have to make courageous choices in the name of results and competitiveness. The problem is that the poor management by the high decision-making roles will be paid for by the workers. An issue that, recently, was also raised by a former employee of the team: Pierre ChautyThe latter, through a post on LinkedIn, had heavily criticized the actions of Luca de meo, CEO of Renault, and Laurent rossi, former CEO of Alpine.
But that's not all. Even the management from a sporting point of view has proven to be very lacking over time. Just remember what happened with Piastri under the management of Otmar Szafanauer. Alpine in 2022 let the young Australian talent escape, who, over the previous years, it had worked so hard to develop in the lower categories. Furthermore, in January of the same year, the team's management was left by the same Alain Prost, with the four-time world champion strongly disagreeing with the aforementioned Luca De Meo.
Will the Mercedes supply be enough for Alpine to have a competitive future?
In short, the sporting and administrative management of the team has left much to be desired. The choice to switch to Mercedes is bold, but it may not be enough. The spring cleaning hoped for by Flavio Briatore will have to prove successful, otherwise the sacrifice of the employees of the Viry-Châtillon structure will have been in vain. Furthermore, a new technical regulation will be expected from 2026. Consequently, the French team will have to find a reasonable serenity as soon as possible, in order to work decently both in part on next year's car and on the one that will debut in 2026.
The Mercedes supply will last, for now, until 2030. A similar agreement was also signed by Williams and the reborn McLaren, thus bringing the number of teams powered by the Stuttgart team to four out of ten, without counting Aston Martin which seems to be about to switch to Honda. The agreement between Alpine and Mercedes, in addition to the supply of the Power Unit, will also include that of the gearbox.
Sources: Formula passion, Corriere della Sera.
