Failed F1 team entry made ‘major commitment’ to save Renault’s engines amid Alpine bid

Follow us on Google Discover

The future of Renault and Alpine in Formula 1 has been plunged into uncertainty after the team confirmed it would be scaling back its operations to cut costs.

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

Questions have been raised over whether they intend to continue beyond the 2026 season when the new power unit regulations will be introduced.

Renault CEO Luca de Meo has ruled out any future sale of the team, however, they intend to scrap their power unit division in favour of running Mercedes engines due to the costs of having an F1 engine programme.

Staff at their power unit plant in Viry Chatillon staged a protest during the Italian GP weekend, wearing t-shirts with the message #ViryOnTrack along with banners opposing the reallocation of resources at the plant.

With the future seemingly uncertain at the French outfit, it has emerged in a report from The Race that the Renault power unit project could be saved with the proposed sale of Alpine to a previously failed F1 entry.

LKYSUNZ proposes buying Alpine from Renault

When the FIA opened up the F1 team tender process in 2023 there were six prospective entries including Andretti, Hietech and another Asia-based US-funded team known as ‘LKYSUNZ’.

Co-founder of LKYSUNZ, Benjamin Duran, was previously involved with another F1 entry in 2019 with Project Panthera Team Asia to establish a team outside of the traditional team base in the UK.

According to the report, LKYSUNZ had shown interest in buying Alpine from Renault with a second investment proposal submitted to senior management in August.

This included a major commitment to fund and use the Renault F1 engine while also being open to the Alpine name still being used in some capacity.

The exact details are to be confirmed regarding how Renault sees its engine division fitting into its overall strategy, but it offers some hope that it will not be killed off completely.

General Motors show interest in Renault F1 engine project

Another possibility for Renault in the short team would be to sell to General Motors, whose executives have reportedly mulled over potentially buying the intellectual property from the French carmaker as it has ambitions of joining the grid in the future.

It comes after Andretti was rejected by F1’s commercial rights holder on the basis that it would not bring any value to the championship. In its rejection letter, F1 stated that it would have viewed its application “differently” if they brought an OEM onboard such as GM.

READ MORE: Everything we know about F1’s 2026 regulation changes so far from engines to tyres

Andretti has previously stated that it is a ‘hard no’ to buy Alpine. But now GM has expressed interest in building an engine for the future that meets the 2026 specifications, which could happen earlier if they decide to buy Renault’s existing facilities.

Although they have not produced the most competitive engine, there is a lot of history and expertise within the French outfit that could be a big advantage for GM if it decides to buy the division.