Mercedes has agreed to a power unit and gearbox customer deal with Alpine and will supply the Enstone-based Formula 1 outfit from 2026.
Ever since F1 ushered in its hybrid power units in 2014, Alpine in its various guises has struggled for performance from its Renault E-Tech power unit.
The Enstone-Viry works entry had slipped to ninth in the Constructors’ standings in 2024 prior to a sensational double podium last time out in Sao Paulo.
It has now confirmed it will be supplied the Mercedes power unit and gearbox from 2026 through to at least 2030.
Dwindling performance amid the approximate $120 million per year cost of developing a power unit prompted Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo to make a change.
It’s said that switching from an OEM to a customer F1 outfit could save the Renault group approximately $90 million a year on development costs.
Alpine confirmed through former Team Principal Bruno Famin at the Belgian Grand Prix that it intended to end its approximately 50-year-long F1 power unit production from Viry-Châtillon at the end of 2025.
This came after months of speculation that Alpine had already begun negotiations with Mercedes.
Viry has been long-opposed to Alpine/Mercedes deal
The decision didn’t go down well with staff at Viry, who had already begun work on the 2026 Renault power unit.
De Meo intends for staff at Viry to be diverted to various different projects around the group, including supporting the Alpine WEC project, the Dacia Dakar project, the Nissan Formula E powertrain and Alpine road car brand.
Moreover, Viry will have a “F1 monitoring unit,” to keep abreast of power unit development within the sport.
Still, the CSE, Social and Economic Committee at Viry has repeatedly voiced its extreme displeasure against De Meo’s actions.
“All staff representatives, representing the voice of employees and a majority of stakeholders, regret and deplore the decision to stop F1 engines in 2026,” they wrote.
“Partnership solutions were rejected by the group, even though they would have made it possible to meet several objectives: maintaining F1 activity, reducing development and operating costs, maintaining all skills, and the possibility of bringing an already largely developed and promising RE26 engine to the 2026 season.”
This statement came after Viry staff launched a peaceful protest at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix, but their actions have not swayed De Meo’s decision-making.
Now, Alpine will join Williams and McLaren as Mercedes engine customers in 2026, where there will be an increased focus upon electrification and the introduction of sustainable fuels.
In an earlier statement, the CSE, Social and Economic Committee at Viry wrote: “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].”
READ MORE – Briatore: ‘Evidence’ prompting Alpine to scrap F1 engine project
