Renault has announced its decision to discontinue Formula One engine production at its Viry-Chatillon factory following the conclusion of the 2025 season. This move will see Alpine, the French carmaker’s racing team, switch to power units supplied by another manufacturer. While the specific engine supplier has not been confirmed, speculation within the motorsport world points towards Mercedes as a likely candidate.
In a statement released on Monday, Alpine outlined its plans for the Viry-Chatillon facility, situated outside Paris, which currently employs over 300 staff. The facility will be transformed into a ‘Hypertech’ engineering center, incorporating an ‘F1 monitoring unit’ that will continue to focus on Formula One activities until the end of the 2025 season. This includes maintaining employees’ knowledge and skills in the sport, keeping Alpine at the forefront of innovation for various projects within the Hypertech division.
Alpine, currently occupying ninth place in the Formula One championship standings after a series of leadership changes, remains the sole team utilizing Renault power units. The team’s Formula One chassis factory is located in Enstone, central England. In August, employees at the Viry-Chatillon factory voiced their concerns, accusing Renault management of seeking to procure Mercedes engines for the 2026 season. The move, they argued, would significantly reduce direct costs from $120 million to $17 million. However, the works council expressed their opposition, stating, “We fail to understand what justifies dismantling the elite entity that is the Viry-Chatillon factory and betraying its legacy and DNA by implanting a Mercedes heart into our Alpine F1.”
The announcement of Monday did not immediately elicit a response from the works council, and there was no mention of a deal with Mercedes in Alpine’s statement. While there has been speculation regarding a potential sale of the Alpine team, former boss Flavio Briatore, now executive advisor, refuted these claims in August.
Alpine CEO Philippe Krief highlighted the significance of the Hypertech Alpine center in a statement, emphasizing its role in the company’s development strategy and its broader contribution to the Group’s innovation strategy. He described it as a pivotal moment in the history of the Viry-Chatillon site, ensuring the continuity of expertise and the integration of rare skills into the Group’s ambitious future. “It is a turning point in the history of the Viry-Chatillon 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.”
The Formula One championship leader, McLaren, currently utilizes Mercedes engines, along with Williams, Aston Martin, and Mercedes’ factory team. Aston Martin is slated to transition to Honda power units in 2026 when the sport introduces a new engine regulation, potentially creating a vacancy for Mercedes to supply another team.
