Last Updated on June 20 2024, 7:17 am
Rumours in the paddock have become very strong during the buildup to the Spanish Grand Prix that Alpine move from factory team to customer team, therefore meaning Renault is out of Formula 1.
The future of Alpine in Formula One has become a hot topic of speculation, with rumours circulating that the French team’s status as a works team could change to that of a customer team. This speculation is based on the possibility that Renault, Alpine’s parent company, may cease to develop its own power units for the 2026 season and beyond.
Such a move would mark a significant change in the team’s strategy and could reshape the competitive landscape.
Renault’s history in Formula 1
Renault is one of the most important engine manufacturers in the history of Formula 1. Since the brand’s very first engine entered the championship in 1977, Renault has powered teams to twelve Constructors’ and eleven Drivers’ titles.
This impressive tally of 23 titles places the Renault engine among the giants of the sport, on a par with Mercedes and Ford, and just behind Ferrari’s record 31 titles. Renault’s contribution has been significant and marks it out as a cornerstone of F1 engineering and innovation.
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Alpine F1 Team’s Renault legacy
The Alpine F1 Team’s two F1 cars still use a Renault engine today, following in the footsteps of the former Renault F1 Team, which was rebranded in 2021 to Alpine as a marketing ploy. As it stands, Alpine is the only team currently supplied by Renault, a shift that occurred after Red Bull began using its own engines, originally developed by Honda, and McLaren returned to Mercedes power units.
The Alpine F1 Team, a rebranded version of the Renault F1 Team, continues Renault’s legacy in the sport. Based in Enstone, England, the team’s operations centre is a cradle of innovation and competitive spirit. From its days as Toleman in the early 1980s, through the Benetton era, to the Renault F1 Team that won back-to-back World Championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006, the facility has seen many changes.
While the Enstone base is responsible for chassis development and overall team operations, the heart of Renault’s engine expertise is in Viry-Châtillon, France. This facility is the birthplace of Renault’s powerful and reliable F1 engines and a testament to French engineering excellence.
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Rumours of a major shift
According to British journalists from Autosport and Motorsport, Alpine is planning to abandon the Renault engine from the 2026 season.
This coincides with a major overhaul of the F1 regulations, which will see new power units replace the current ones. To avoid the significant costs associated with developing a completely new engine, Alpine F1 may consider purchasing engines from competitors.
Silence from Alpine
For now, the Alpine F1 Team is remaining tight-lipped about the rumours. Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, recently stated that the Alpine F1 team is not for sale, but did not mention the future of its engines. This ambiguity has only fuelled speculation about a possible engine change.
The rumour that Alpine F1 is abandoning Renault engines for those of a competitor is both intriguing and surprising. Given Renault’s storied history and significant contribution to the sport, such a decision would be a monumental change. As the 2026 season approaches and regulatory changes loom, the motorsport community is eagerly awaiting further developments.
Whether Alpine does indeed partner with a new engine supplier remains to be seen, but the impact of such a move would be felt across the Formula One grid.
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Engine supply talks
There are already whispers of ongoing engine supply talks with rival manufacturers. Current plans for the 2026 season are ostensibly set in terms of customer allocations, but Formula One regulations ensure that Alpine won’t be left without an engine partner.
Under the current rules, if Alpine fails to secure a deal with another engine supplier by 15 May 2025, FIA regulations stipulate that one of the current suppliers must provide engines for the French team.
But which manufacturer would that be? There is a formula to decide the most likely candidate(s).
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Deciphering the technical regulations
The technical regulations for the 2026 season specify the minimum number of teams that a manufacturer must be prepared to supply at the request of the FIA. The formula used by the technical regulations to determine this is:
T = (NTOT – A) / (B – C)
Where:
T is the number of teams a manufacturer must supply, rounded up to the next whole number.
A is the number of teams contracted with a new engine manufacturer for the year.
B is the total number of manufacturers of homologated engines for the year.
C is the number of new engine manufacturers for the year.
NTOT is set to 11, representing the total number of registered participants for the year, with a review if the number exceeds 12.
Assuming Renault exits the scene, five manufacturers would remain registered for 2026: Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, and Red Bull. Using the formula, with Audi and Red Bull considered newcomers, the calculation (11 – 3) / (5 – 2) results in 2.67, which rounds up to three.
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Honda’s commitment
This formula means that each manufacturer must be prepared to supply up to three teams. Currently, only Mercedes meets this criterion, supplying engines to McLaren, Williams and its own team. If Alpine is left without a contract, the regulations would force the manufacturer with the fewest current contracts to supply them.
Ferrari (supplying Ferrari and Haas) and Red Bull (supplying Red Bull and the Racing Bulls) each have two teams. Audi and Honda, with only one team each, would be the remaining candidates.
However, a crucial clause in the regulations states that a NEW engine manufacturer is not obliged to fulfil this supply obligation. So Audi, as a new entrant, would be exempt and Honda would have to negotiate an additional deal with Alpine alongside its partnership with Aston Martin.
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The capping clause
If Alpine is unable to secure a new engine deal on its own, a fallback scenario could see Mercedes step in to supply the French team in 2026, even though Mercedes is already at the limit imposed by the regulations. The regulations limit the number of teams a manufacturer can supply.
Article 1.2.3 of Appendix 5 of the Technical Regulations for Engines states that each PU manufacturer of a homologated PU may not supply more than (T+1) teams unless otherwise agreed by the FIA.
With six manufacturers currently in play, the formula for T is 2 [(11-3) / (6-2)]. With Mercedes already supplying its own team, McLaren and Williams, it is at the T+1 limit. However, if Renault withdraws, leaving only five manufacturers, T is recalculated to 3, allowing Mercedes to potentially supply four teams.
Awaiting the decision from Alpine and Renault
The motorsport world is now closely watching Alpine and Renault and eagerly awaiting their decision. The implications of their decision will be significant both financially and competitively. As Alpine ponders its future, the potential transition from works team to customer team raises many strategic questions, the answers to which are likely to determine the team’s fate in the high-stakes arena of Formula One.
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
