End of half a century of history, Renault-Alpine will stop manufacturing Formula 1 engines in 2026

L’écurie Alpine est actuellement 9e du classement constructeur en F1. HOCH ZWEI – HOCH ZWEI

Le motoriste et son écurie ont annoncé, ce lundi 30 septembre, qu’ils mettront fin à la fabrication de moteurs de Formule 1, débutée en 1977, à compter de la saison 2026.

Car manufacturer Renault will stop manufacturing Formula 1 engines from 2026, ending nearly 50 years of history in the elite of motorsport, the management of Alpine, its team, announced in a press release.

The Viry-Châtillon site (Essonne), south of Paris, where Renault designs and manufactures its own F1 engines, will be transformed into a “center of excellence in engineering and high technology, and this, from the end of 2024", Alpine specifies in its press release. “Viry's F1 activities, apart from the development of a new engine, are maintained until the end of the 2025 season.”

Renault informed employee representatives at the end of July of its wish to transform its Viry-Châtillon plant. This decision should affect 360 employees, as well as many Alpine subcontractors. All employees concerned should be offered a position in other Alpine business sectors (preparation of passenger cars, redeployment to other motor sports such as Formula E or the Dakar), the brand's management had indicated to AFP at the beginning of SeptemberAFP.

Alpine soon to be equipped with a Mercedes engine in F1?

Alpine, whose chassis will continue to be manufactured in Enstone, England, could sign an agreement for 2026 with Mercedes, which currently supplies the Williams, McLaren and Aston Martin teams. No announcement has yet been made in this regard. The cost of purchasing an engine from an external engine manufacturer being limited to 17 million euros, Renault management is counting on savings of around 120 million euros per year.

With one of the finest records in F1 since it entered in 1977, Renault has won twelve constructors' titles and eleven world crowns among drivers as an engine manufacturer.