‘Very difficult’ conversations had with Renault engine staff with future F1 plans in doubt

Alpine F1 signage on the wall.

Closing the doors on Renault’s F1 engine project doesn’t hit Bruno Famin hard because he’s an engine guy, but because he had to tell people who have been “fully dedicated for years” that their passion “won’t last” much longer.

As a team that’s made headlines in the last two years over big-name changes at the top, Alpine threw a curveball last month they not only announced Famin would be stepping down as the Alpine team boss, but that there are massive changes underway at Viry.

Renault’s 250 F1 engine staff have branded it a ‘betrayal’

Their Formula 1 engine project being scrapped is the biggest of that.

Despite initially committing to the 2026 regulations of Formula 1’s new engine formula, Renault has now chosen to cancel their engine project and instead become a customer, reportedly favoring Mercedes as their preferred option.

The 250-plus staff in Viry, who have been hard at work designing the 2026 engine, it’s been seen as “a betrayal”.

Karine Dubreucq, a union representative, expressed her shock to L’Equipe, saying, “We didn’t see it coming. It’s a backstabbing, a betrayal.”

Here, we created engines capable of securing twelve F1 championships, and now we can’t? They didn’t even bother awaiting the initial test bench run.

Famin stated that it was “very difficult” to inform those 250 people about Renault’s decision.

“The issue is not about whether one is an engine guy or not,” the outgoing Alpine team leader said on the Beyond the Grid podcast. “It’s about human beings.”

Those people who have dedicated years of their life, working tirelessly on a project, engine, gearbox, or anything else, fortunate enough to follow their passion, are now being told that it won’t last any longer.

Naturally, it’s quite challenging, particularly while the 2026 project was performing well.

People made a significant investment and our initial results were positive. We decided to pursue some bold technical options and the initial results confirmed that this was the correct decision.

The 2024 Alpine team-mate head-to-head stats

F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

However, while Renault is at risk of losing some of their top engine personnel to the engine manufacturers who will comprise the 2026 grid, taking not only intellectual property knowledge but also their skills, Famin hopes to convince them to remain in Viry to contribute to other projects.

“He conceded, “That could indeed be a significant challenge. While the IP is important, the true asset lies in our people. Their skills, our staff – they are our real asset.”

“Sure, they’ve been promised a job, but for people who live to work for their passion, it’s not sufficient.”

He added, “Our work at Viry is not limited to Formula One. We are also involved in all motorsport programs, including the Alpine program. The development of the software, systems, and the entire project are monitored from Viry.”

We are also engaged in Formula E, where we have developed all the FIA manufacturer requirements for Formula E, which are currently being implemented by your Nissan and McLaren in Formula E.

“Although Formula One comprises the majority of our activities, there are indeed many others. We now need to develop new, high-level engineering activities to best utilize our team’s skills, provided they are content to remain in their current roles.”

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