Alpine close to ditching Renault engine as deal to use £3bn F1 team’s power units ‘within reach’

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The future of Alpine’s F1 engine partnership has been thrown in the air amid reports that it could be set to ditch Renault power units in favour of another manufacturer on the grid.

Alpine is a division of Renault and has been a works entity since the team based in Enstone was taken over by the French carmaker in 2016.

Renault has produced the least successful power unit of the hybrid era since it was introduced in 2014, having only won four races; three with Red Bull and the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix as Alpine.

Questions were raised over whether they would continue through to 2026 when the new power unit regulations are introduced, with Renault CEO Luca de Meo ruling out any future sale of the team.

But a report by Formula.hu suggests that the French outfit is on the brink of scrapping its engine division altogether, in favour of going with another manufacturer on the grid.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Alpine could pair up with Mercedes in engine partnership

According to the report, despite holding talks with Red Bull Powertrains an agreement between £3 billion team (via Forbes) Mercedes and Alpine is “within reach” and could be announced imminently.

The report states that it was one of the first jobs pulled off by Flavio Briatore, who rejoined the Enstone outfit after being fired in 2009 in the wake of the Crash-gate scandal.

Briatore believes this is the most effective solution to cut down costs for Renault’s F1 programme, while also continuing racing with Mercedes resources.

Formula.hu states that an official announcement could take place at the Belgian Grand Prix, with a collaboration likely starting from the 2026 season.

Team Enstone has previously raced with Mercedes engines

The team last raced with Mercedes power units in 2015 when it was known as ‘Lotus F1’ and owned majority by financial advisory and investment firm Genii Capital.

If Alpine does opt to switch to Mercedes, it would be the most logical option considering their winning pedigree while any power unit produced between Red Bull and Ford has yet to hit the track.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore

Red Bull have already stated that it would be difficult to supply a third team outside of its obligations to provide engines for sister team RB, while for Mercedes it would plug up the gap created by Aston Martin who will be switching to Honda power from 2026.

The FIA regulations state that any team without a power unit must be supplied by a current engine manufacturer. If Renault decides to pull its power unit programme and Alpine has not got a replacement lined up, then it could fall to Honda to supply them under the regulations.