James Vowles explains why Alpine still has ‘question mark’ over future

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Alpine is set to abandon its in-house power unit operation in favour of a switch to Mercedes power from 2026.

It follows several months of speculation from the French outfit that it was set to scrap its 2026 engine plans, in a bid to cut costs amid losses in their car division.

F1 veteran Flavio Briatore joined Alpine in an advisory role in May and there have been several big changes ever since, including the decision to part ways with Esteban Ocon after their partnership reached its natural end.

Reserve driver Jack Doohan is set to graduate to a full-time seat with the team, while former Hitech boss Oliver Oakes has replaced Bruno Famin.

The switch to Mercedes engines is set to be the next big change, thereby turning them into a customer team with a direct rival engine in the car market. Williams team principal James Vowles has warned it could mean an uncertain future for the Enstone-based team when speaking to AMuS.

James Vowles warns of uncertain future for Alpine

Williams is currently in a battle with Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship this season for sixth, with the team three points ahead.

Vowles has managed to secure additional investment for Williams in the long term, enabling them to build up their resources in a bid to improve their win chances. He explains why their rivals could be on a downward spiral after their latest decision.

“I see a question mark with Alpine. Even if they buy engines from Mercedes in the future, they have a big backlog. We have been working with Mercedes since 2014 and are already in the middle of the 2026 project together with Mercedes. You can’t just screw an engine into the back of the car and hope it will work,” said Vowles.

“Alpine is still in a downward trend. This must be stopped before the turnaround can be initiated. We’re already over that. Audi is still far behind in its transformation. The team is still clean. We started the process a year or two ago and are already reasonably stable.”

Oliver Oakes opens up on ‘bad’ aspect of taking over Alpine

Alpine sought a change in leadership by hiring Oakes to help improve their long-term prospects after Famin stepped down from the role.

Oakes is the second-youngest team principal in F1 history after Christian Horner, after he took over the running of Jaguar in 2005 when they changed to Red Bull.

READ MORE: What Alpine’s next name is expected to be amid talk Renault could sell the team

Taking over Alpine midway through the season was less than ideal according to Oakes, who cited having to get up to speed with everything as a main challenge.

Alpine heads into the final six races as it bids to finish ahead of Williams and Haas in the Constructors’ Championship.