Enstone (England), Nov 12 (AP) The struggling Alpine Formula 1 team will use engines and gearboxes from Mercedes starting in 2026 after parent company Renault cuts its in-house F1 engine program.
With new engine rules coming at the end of next season, Alpine said on Tuesday that Mercedes will be its power unit supplier “for the duration of the new regulation era, from 2026 until at least 2030."
“The team remains focused on performing in the strongest way possible in the 2024 and 2025 seasons." Alpine said in September that Renault is converting the factory at Viry-Chatillon on the outskirts of Paris into an engineering centre focusing mostly on other projects.
Renault has a history of success as an F1 engine manufacturer going back to the 1970s when it pioneered turbocharged engines.
Fernando Alonso won the drivers' championship with the works Renault team in 2005 and 2006, and the French company supplied title-winning engines for teams like Benetton, Williams and Red Bull. The last driver to become champion with a Renault engine was Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
The announcement comes nine days after Alpine achieved a surprise double podium finish in Brazil with Esteban Ocon second and Pierre Gasly third behind race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
It was a rare success in an otherwise dismal season for Alpine, which hadn't had either car finish higher than ninth until then.
The team, which has had numerous staffing changes in senior roles this year, more than doubled its points haul for the entire season in one race and is sixth out of 10 teams in the constructors' standings with three races to go.
Alpine is still planning to use Renault power units in 2025 when Australian Jack Doohan will replace Ocon as Gasly's teammate. (AP) AYG