Alpine has confirmed it will become a Mercedes engine and gearbox customer from 2026 after abandoning its in-house power unit program.
The Renault-owned British-based team confirmed earlier this year that its engine division, headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, would be shuttered ahead of the regulation changes in 2026 despite work having already started on the new motor.
The French parent company, under Renault CEO Luca de Meo and executive adviser Flavio Briatore, took the view that the power unit program was too expensive to justify its poor performances during the turbo-hybrid era.
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The team admitted last year that it was running with an estimated 20-kilowatt power deficit to its rivals, with engine upgrades frozen at this late stage of the regulations.
Mercedes, on the other hand, has been the dominant power unit supplier since this formula was introduced in 2014, having powered eight of the last 10 constructors title winning cars. It will likely win a ninth with McLaren this year.
Alpine’s strategy is therefore to trade the potential long-term advantage of having full control over a major performance differentiator for a short-term boost, with Mercedes heavily tipped to produce another frontrunning engine for the 2026 rules.
Enstone will also walk away from manufacturing its own gearboxes, taking the complete Mercedes drive train in a bid to smooth the transition from works team to customer operation.
It will effectively replace Aston Martin in taking a supply of the full rear-end assembly, with the Silverstone squad switching to Honda power as the Japanese marque’s de facto works team from 2026.
Taking an external gearbox supply will necessarily restrict Alpine’s ability to customise its rear suspension, with the pick-up points mounted to the gearbox case.
However, whereas the team says it will take Mercedes power until at least 2030, its gearbox deal has been left open-ended, suggesting it could resume building its own transmission from 2027 once the competitive picture under the new rules becomes clear.
The switch from works team to customer outfit was controversial, not least among staff at Renault’s engine facility, for the signal it sent about the team’s commitment to the sport.
Works status — building all components of a car in-house rather than outsourcing — has long been considered essential to sustained championship success in Formula 1.
Some speculated that offloading the engine division was the first step to preparing the team for sale, with an independent operator more likely to purchase a stand-alone factory in the UK without a French advanced manufacturing operation tethered to it.
Both CEO De Meo and executive adviser and team figurehead Briatore have consistently and strongly denied an intention to sell the decades-old team.
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Instead cost is a principal motivating factor.
Annual maintenance of a modern F1 power unit program runs deep into the $100 million territory. The 2026 cost cap for engine suppliers is set at an eye-watering US$130 million (A$199 million) per season.
Bills for engine customers, meanwhile, are capped at €15 million ($24 million), a significant cost reduction.
Beyond the financial argument, McLaren is also breaking down the stigma of operating with a customer power unit. Despite taking a supply of Mercedes motors, the team is leading the constructors championship from Ferrari and is favourite to take the crown.
It would be only the third customer team to win the title in the last 30 years, following Benetton-Renault in 1995 and Brawn-Mercedes in 2009.
While McLaren builds its own gearbox and therefore has free choice over its suspension layout, the comparison is nonetheless salient, with both teams having been stuck in the doldrums for much of the current set of regulations despite their historically significant statures.
Alpine finished ahead of McLaren in the constructors standings as recently as 2022, when the two teams appeared to be on divergent paths under the new technical rules, the French squad on the rise and the British one in decline.
But those fortunes have flipped dramatically, with McLaren developing into the second-quickest car last year and moving into top spot in 2024.
Alpine, meanwhile, was second-last on this year’s championship table before its double podium in Brazil rocketed it up to an unlikely sixth, a result that could be worth US$29.2 million (A$44.6 million) in prize money if held to the end of the season, according to Briatore.
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Confirmation of the long-expected power unit deal gives Alpine a growing sense of having a clean slate ahead of the 2026 rule changes.
After years of management upheaval, the team appears to have settled on an executive line-up comprising Oliver Oakes as principal and former Renault boss Briatore as a figurehead representing Renault’s interests in the paddock.
Its technical line-up has been comprehensively refreshed, with technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer having left the team at the start of the season.
Alpine opted for a three-pronged line-up similar to McLaren, with Joe Burnell taking engineering, David Wheater leading aerodynamics and Ciaron Pilbeam overseeing vehicle performance.
Former Ferrari chief engineer David Sanchez later joined as executive technical director to supervise the entire technical office.
The team will also take a new driver line-up into 2025, with incumbent Pierre Gasly to partner Australian Jack Doohan for his rookie season.
However, speculation has ramped up in recent days that Doohan could be ousted before even making it to the grid, with Alpine heavily rumoured to be making a play for rookie sensation Franco Colapinto.
Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from the Italian Grand Prix in September and has immediately impressed with a pair of scoring finishes and by frequently matching experienced teammate Alex Albon on pace.
However, with Williams having already contracted Albon and Carlos Sainz to the team next year, the Argentine is without a seat for 2025.
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Alpine has reportedly made a play for the 21-year-old on the motion of adviser Briatore despite being already fully subscribed, having offered Doohan a contract during the mid-season break.
Autosport has reported that restlessness over the driver line-up has stemmed from some elements of the new senior leadership team feeling Doohan wasn’t their pick.
Adding fuel to the fire was Gasly’s presence at a private test day in Qatar last Tuesday alongside Doohan and Alpine junior Victor Martins.
While Doohan has been allocated more than 5000 kilometres of testing in previous-spec Alpine cars this year, Gasly’s presence was more surprising, the inference being that he was used to benchmark the Australian’s performance.
Doohan having his contract shredded before even making his debut would be unprecedented in modern Formula 1.
But Alpine is still considered an outside chance to pick up Colapinto, with Red Bull also pushing hard for the Argentine as a convenient solution to its Sergio Pérez problem.
Colapinto could either replace Liam Lawson at RB, with the Kiwi then replacing the underperforming Pérez at Red Bull Racing next season, or replace Pérez directly in a shock move to the 2023 title-winning team.
Apart from having the greater need for Colapinto, Red Bull would also likely be more willing than Alpine to meet Williams’s reportedly significant asking price to release its young gun from his long-term contract, with Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport quoting a €20 million ($32 million) fee.
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