F1 News
Alpine leaning towards cooperation with Mercedes: No more Renault PU
- Ludo van Denderen
Renault's era as an engine supplier in Formula 1 will almost certainly come to an end soon. Alpine - who use power sources produced by their parent company - are believed to sign a deal with Mercedes to use power units from the 2026 season.
Alpine are said to have discussed the possibility of taking over the suspension and gearbox from the German manufacturer from the '25 season, but that is incorrect. Broadly speaking, there has already been agreement on the collaboration, the details of the deal will be further elaborated in the near future and a final decision will be made.
In recent months it has become clear that the management of the Alpine F1 team were looking for ways to reduce costs and improve sporting performance at the same time. The recently appointed advisor Flavio Briatore appears to be the key in the transition to becoming a Mercedes customer team. Last weekend in Budapest, the Italian also spoke several times with Mercedes management on behalf of Alpine about the collaboration.
Renault to save hundreds of millions
For Renault, stopping the production of F1 engines means cost savings of hundreds of millions of euros. It is still unknown what happens to the staff currently working on the Renault engines that Alpine use.