Renault, goodbye to F1 engines from 2026?
Renault responded to the peaceful protest by Viry Chatillon employees over the weekend in Monza with a brief statement that left open the possibility of a U-turn on its decision to abandon Formula 1 as an engine supplier starting in 2026. Luca DeMeo He then confirmed that a final decision on the matter has not yet been taken, admitting however that turning Alpine into a simple customer team would entail a significant savings in economic resources.
CEO Luca De Meo speaks
“The decision has not yet been made – explained the Italian manager – And We still have four or five weeks to determine the next steps after the board members meeting. We are evaluating all the opportunities. If we look at it from a purely economic point of view and therefore think about how expensive it is to develop an engine for 2026 ourselves and how much we could save as customers, then we are talking about a huge difference. Anyone who looks at the numbers sees that we could enter the new era of F1 with a more powerful and less expensive package.. However, there are many factors to consider when making a decision of a certain type.”.
Reassurances for Renault employees
There is no shortage of potential negative aspects of such a choice, linked to marketing reasons but also to the discontent of employees who have been working on the project for some time. De Meo has however reassured the staff employed in Viry about the future of their jobs: “What does the marketing department think? What negative consequences, including financial ones, could there be if we took this move? Our ambition is to create a competitive project. For this reason, when we choose, we take many factors into account and we do it with particular attention. The Viry Chatillon factory? We have very capable and prepared people, who do not only work on the F1 power unit. There are important innovative projects and not only for motorsports”.
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