F1
Alpine Nears Major Shift with Advanced Mercedes F1 Technical Partnership Talks
Alpine is reportedly nearing an agreement with Mercedes for a Formula 1 technical partnership, with discussions said to be in the final stages. This would mean Alpine abandoning its independent F1 project and transitioning to a customer team for Mercedes.
Alpine is said to be nearing a technical partnership with Mercedes in Formula 1, which would mean they would no longer be considered a works team.
Negotiations for an agreement where Mercedes would provide Alpine with an engine, gearbox, and suspension have reached "an advanced stage," as reported by Motorsport.
According to the report, the collaboration might kick off as soon as 2025, with the basic terms of the agreement already settled.
Flavio Briatore, the new advisor for the Alpine F1 team, was seen visiting the Mercedes motorhome multiple times throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
Briatore and Alpine team leader Bruno Famin are considering whether Alpine should abandon their Renault factory engine arrangement and switch to being a customer.
Since new power unit regulations came into effect in 2014, the French company has continually fallen short of competitors in engine performance.
New engine regulations are set to be implemented in 2026, and Alpine thinks that adopting a customer team model, similar to McLaren, will be the most effective strategy for achieving success.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has stated that the German company is "open-minded" about providing engines to Alpine.
Toto Wolff mentioned during the British Grand Prix that the situation is quite complex. He expressed that although the idea of swapping Aston Martin with another team is appealing due to the extensive learning involved, the organization benefits from having more power units. This increase helps speed up developments and enhances reliability.
"This is the current situation. I believe it was limited to sharing viewpoints and engaging in preliminary talks. Ultimately, Alpine will need to decide whether they wish to proceed with their Formula 1 engine program or discontinue it."
“We will only delve into our agreements once they have made that crucial decision. However, we are flexible and have communicated this to them.”
Currently, Mercedes engines are set to supply power to three teams in 2026: their factory team, McLaren, and Williams.
Aston Martin will partner with Honda in 2026 after their existing agreement with Mercedes ends.
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