Briatore again plays down speculation sun to set on Alpine in F1

From 2026, Alpine, Renault’s factory team rebranded in 2021, will switch to using customer engines supplied by Mercedes. However, Flavio Briatore, who returned to the Enstone-based team as a consultant in 2024, has again firmly dismissed suggestions that the team’s future in Formula 1 is in jeopardy.

Briatore told Auto Motor und Sport: “I don’t understand this speculation. Ever since I’ve been at Renault, the same questions have always been asked. When we won the world championship title in 2005 and 2006, I was asked whether Renault wanted to stay in Formula 1.”

Briatore, who first led the team in the 1990s when it competed as Benetton, emphasised Renault’s consistent support for the team during his tenure: “The truth is I always got what I needed for the job from Renault. They appreciate that I’m careful with their money. I believe in efficiency. That’s why I’m saving money everywhere in the areas that don’t make my car faster.”

Explaining the decision to rely on Mercedes engines, Briatore was candid: “The French want to win. We won’t win with our engine. It’s as simple as that. If we want to win, we have to give up the areas in which we are not competitive.”

Briatore dismissed concerns over image, asserting that the change would not undermine Alpine’s identity: “McLaren becomes world champion with a Mercedes engine. How many times have you read or heard that McLaren-Mercedes has become world champion? I never have. Haas is Haas and not Haas-Ferrari.”

Briatore added that switching to Mercedes engines eliminates a major area of concern, allowing Alpine to focus on other performance-critical aspects: “Thanks to the Mercedes engine, we have one less problem to worry about in the future."

While Briatore dismissed speculation about a potential sale of the team, Renault’s history in Formula 1 includes multiple exits. The French manufacturer first withdrew as a factory team after the 1985 season before returning in 2002 by purchasing Benetton. A second withdrawal came in 2010, followed by a return in 2016 and the rebranding as Alpine in 2021.

Despite the turbulent midfield battle in 2024, Alpine’s strategic decisions paid off, allowing them to secure sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of Aston Martin, whose updates faltered.

For Briatore, the focus remains clear: pragmatic decisions to secure competitiveness. “There are purely sporting reasons for no longer using Renault’s own engines from 2026 onwards,” he concluded, reiterating that Alpine remains committed to its place on the Formula 1 grid.