Alpine to shut down F1 engine programme at end of 2025

• Viry-Chatillon base to continue making engines for WEC and W2RC
• French facility to retain ‘F1 monitoring unit’ to maintain employees’ knowledge and skills for series
• Expected to switch to Mercedes customer supply in 2026, but plans remain unconfirmed

Alpine have confirmed their Formula One works engine programme will be shut down at the end of 2025.

The team’s Formula One programme is split across two factories – the chassis is constructed in Enstone, UK, and the engine is built in Viry-Chatillon, France.

Engines have been designed and produced at the French base since the team entered Formula One in the 1977 season.

This transition will see Viry-Chatillon fall under the ‘Hypertech Alpine’ plan, which seeks to create a centre of engineering excellence.

Hypertech Alpine will focus on the development of the Alpine supercar, future battery technologies, and new electric motor technologies.

Viry-Chatillon will continue its involvement in motorsport through its existing entries in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

It will also retain an ‘F1 monitoring unit’, which will seek to ‘to maintain employees’ knowledge and skills in this sport and remain at the forefront of innovation for Hypertech Alpine’s various projects’.

“Creating this Hypertech Alpine centre is key to Alpine’s development strategy and, more broadly, to the Group’s innovation strategy,” said Philippe Krief, chief executive of Alpine.

“It is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Châtillon site, which will ensure the continuity of a savoir-faire and the inclusion of its rare skills in the Group’s ambitious future while strengthening Alpine’s position as an ‘innovation garage’.

“Its racing DNA remains a cornerstone of the brand. It will continue to fuel an unprecedented industrial and automotive project, thanks particularly to Hypertech Alpine.”

This is the latest shakeup at the Alpine Formula One team, which includes the return of controversial former team boss Flavio Briatore as executive advisor.

The man behind ‘Crashgate’, one of Formula One’s worst scandals, quickly replaced team principal Bruno Famin with Oliver Oakes, which followed a series of high-profile management changes prior to Briatore’s arrival.

Alpine are yet to confirm their plans after their engine operations cease, but it is expected they will switch to a customer supply from Mercedes in 2026.

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For purists, this is a fall from grace for the once-successful manufacturer. Two drivers’ and constructors’ championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006 were a particular highlight of the team’s time as a works outfit.

As an engine supplier, though, Renault can count 12 constructors’ titles and 11 drivers’ championships among its achievements, the former of which can only be beaten by Formula One’s longest-serving team, Ferrari.

However, the last of these constructors’ titles was with Red Bull in 2013, and it is well-known that the current Renault engine is the weakest on the grid.

Ultimately, this decision comes down to the cost of producing a Formula One engine, something that cannot be justified with such poor on-track performances.

But this highlights the shift in how Formula One is perceived. Purists will wonder how Renault can opt to put a rival’s engine in its cars, but the sheer marketing power of the series means it’s much more than a platform for a manufacturer to demonstrate its automotive pedigree.

If an Alpine powered by a Mercedes engine starts challenging at the front in the near future, then casual fans will see the Alpine brand front and centre.

Plus, after the team saw its profits drop 70 per cent for the year ended 2023, the focus can now shift to making Alpine a consistent revenue-generating machine.