Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo Defends Decision To End F1 Engine Programme

Since early July, it's been rumoured that the Renault Group would abandon its works engine programme, with Alpine becoming a customer team in 2026.

Later that month, Alpine's former legal manager Pierre Chauty revealed details of the team's switch to Mercedes engines, which threatened 500 jobs. The Frenchman also chastised de Meo's and Alpine's former CEO, Laurent Rossi for their lack of leadership and inability to take responsibility.

Just days after Chauty's explosive revelations, Alpine team principal Bruno Famin admitted the team would look for customer engines for 2026 as he announced he would step down as team principal for Oliver Oakes.

Despite these plans, the workers at Alpine's engine plant in Viry Châtillon located in the southern suburbs of Paris didn't take the decision lightly. They went on strike during race weekends with some workers, even travelling to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza to try and overturn the decision.

But on Monday, it was confirmed that their efforts had been in vain. Renault announced that the F1 project would end after the 2025 season, with resources now allocated to projects such as an Alpine supercar.

"This decision is heartbreaking," said de Meo when explaining the decision to French publication L'Equipe. "I'm very passionate. It's heartbreaking. This decision is the result of months and months of observations.

"I admire the commitment and tenacity of the people of Viry-Châtillon. They have the guts. And that is good news. It hurts to see them so disappointed with this decision, but unfortunately, in my job, I can't think like a fan.

"In Formula 1, we became invisible. Two more years like this, and the project would completely collapse. We have been on a downward slope for three seasons. We had to shake all that up.

"Sponsors are scarce. We have a hole in our pockets. My shareholders know how to count. Alpine has to make money. With our P16 and P17, we look like jokers."

Team not for sale

Due to Renault's decision, the company's 2026 power unit, which reportedly performed well on the team's engine dynos, will likely never run in anger.

Monday's decision also signals the end of Renault's nearly 50-year involvement in modern-day Grand Prix racing. The company was the first to introduce turbo power to F1 in 1977 and was a dominant engine supplier in the V10 and V8 eras.

However, success has been harder to come by as a works team. Renault only won the drivers and constructors twice, in 2005 and 2006, with Fernando Alonso, before the Spaniard left for an unhappy single season at McLaren.

In June 2023, Alpine sold a 24% stake in its team to New York-based investor group Otro Capital for €200 million [£167.8 million], increasing the team's value to $900 million [£685.8 million]. The group has a star-studded list of investors, including boxer Anthony Joshua, NFL star Travis Kelce, golfer Rory McIlroy, and actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The deal was finalised in December 2023, with Alpine retaining most of the team's ownership.

But after a poor start to 2024, which saw Alpine languishing at the back and the exodus of key technical figures such as Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer, de Meo was forced into action. In June, Alonso's manager, Italian Flavio Briatore, who served as team principal of Benetton and Renault for nearly two decades, was hired to be de Meo's special advisor.

The Italian's arrival coincided with yet more rumours that he would oversee the sale of Alpine after years of poor results and managerial shakeups. The 2024 season has been particularly bad, with the Anglo-French team languishing in ninth place in the constructors' championship.

But de Meo has dismissed any suggestions that Briatore's arrival coincided with the team's sale and defended his controversial decision to hire him.

"I read that he was tasked with packaging the project to eventually sell the team. It's completely false," added de Meo. "Every fortnight, I get calls from financiers, eccentrics, who want to enter F1. They know that after 2026, it will be much more expensive.

"I won't sell, I'm not stupid. Being in F1 is essential for the Alpine brand. We are in a closed club. It brings credibility for the brand among motor racing fans. We don't need the money."