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Alpine confirmed that Formula One activities at Viry-Châtillon, where its Renault engines are based, will stop at the end of the 2025 season, “excluding the development of a new engine.”
On Monday, Alpine Racing announced the creation of Hypertech Alpine, an engineering center in Viry-Châtillon, France. The team says the center “will combine cutting-edge engineering and expertise in high-performance automotive for Alpine and Renault Group.”
According to the announcement, operations will begin by late 2024, and it will work on various projects, including the future Alpine Supercar, future battery technologies, electric motor technologies, and implementing “an F1 monitoring unit.” Viry-Châtillon will continue working on other motorsport programs, including the World Endurance Championship, Formula E and Rally-Raid “for partner brands” and customer projects.
“This site transformation will involve reallocating resources and competencies currently assigned to the F1 engine,” the announcement states. “Each collaborator involved with the project will be offered a position within Hypertech Alpine in Viry-Châtillon.”
As far as the monitoring unit’s scope is concerned, Alpine said it “will aim to maintain employees’ knowledge and skills in this sport and remain at the forefront of innovation for Hypertech Alpine’s various projects.”
Alpine’s management met with employee representatives and an independent assessment was performed. Alpine Racing staff representatives created a proposal, which was presented to Renault CEO Luca de Meo earlier this month. According to a statement from the delegation, the staff wanted to participate in the 2026 F1 season powered by the power unit it has been developing. Per the statement originally written in French, the group requested to “leave the choice to our governance to switch to an alternative pat, once the car has been tested in 2026.”
“This proposal is also accompanied by a total commitment from all site employees to the brand and the assurance that the realization of the F1 project will be carried out in parallel with the innovation projects proposed last July by management.”
Work on the 2026 F1 engine began in 2022, and the first start occurred this year. According to a previous statement from the Works Council, “After two years of investment, the performance results are promising, even though a third of the validated items have yet to be introduced at this stage on the V6.”
In the 1970s, Renault, Alpine’s parent company, began producing F1 engines, servicing teams like Williams, Red Bull, and Benetton over the years. But the future of the F1 engine project came into question before summer break. It became evident that the company was considering changing from being an engine manufacturer to becoming a customer team in 2026 when the regulations change. Renault has struggled to be competitive with the current engine regulations, which began in 2014.
Top photo: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images
