Sports
Alpine Set to Partner with Mercedes in F1 Technical Shift, Talks Near Finalization
Alpine is reportedly nearing a technical partnership with Mercedes F1, with discussions progressing to a late phase. It appears Alpine may abandon their Formula 1 factory team ambitions to instead join forces with Mercedes as a client team, sources suggest.
Alpine is said to be nearing a technical partnership with Mercedes in Formula 1, signaling an end to their independent works status.
Discussions regarding a potential agreement for Mercedes to provide Alpine with an engine, gearbox, and suspension components are reportedly in the latter phases, Motorsport states.
This collaboration might kick off as soon as 2025, with the conditions for an agreement already "settled in principle," according to the report.
During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Flavio Briatore, recently appointed as an advisor for Alpine F1, was observed frequenting the Mercedes’ motorhome multiple times.
Briatore, alongside Alpine team leader Bruno Famin, have been considering if Alpine should abandon their Renault factory engine configuration to switch to a customer status.
Since the introduction of new power unit regulations in 2014, the French producer has persistently fallen short in engine efficiency when compared to its competitors.
In 2026, new regulations governing engines will be implemented, and Alpine is of the opinion that adopting the model of a customer team, similar to McLaren, represents the optimal strategy for achieving success.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has indeed verified that the German brand is receptive to the idea of providing Alpine with engines.
"Wolff expressed at the British Grand Prix that the scenario is quite complex. He mentioned that there's an appeal in the idea of substituting Aston Martin for a different team due to the significant learning involved. From his perspective, having more power units within the organization is advantageous as it speeds up progress in both developments and reliability."
"It seems this is the situation. My belief is that it didn't progress past the stage of sharing views or engaging in, let's say, preliminary talks. I believe Alpine will make a choice on whether they wish to proceed with their Formula 1 engine project or not."
"We've communicated to them that we're willing to proceed with our discussions once they've made a key strategic choice. Until then, we remain receptive and ready to move forward."
Currently, Mercedes engines are set to supply three teams in 2026, including their own factory team, alongside McLaren and Williams.
Aston Martin is set to partner with Honda starting from 2026, following the conclusion of their existing agreement with Mercedes.
Explore Further
Recent Updates
Recent Updates
Site Navigation
Crash.Net
©1999-2024 Crash Media Group
Recreating, in whole or in part, any text, photos, or illustrations in any manner is strictly prohibited.
Discover more from Automobilnews News - The first AI News Portal world wide
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.