Alpine has announced that the Formula 1 power unit program will not continue beyond 2025, confirming the plan after the decision was made following a consultative vote. The Enstone team will become a Mercedes customer team, abandoning the power units developed in Viry-Chatillon. The historic French site, which has produced engines that have won 12 world titles over the last thirty years, will no longer produce power units but will be transformed into an engineering center to contribute to the technology of future Renault and Alpine cars.
Mercedes F1 engines for Alpine
Alpine in F1 is ready to use Mercedes engines. The Estonian team is aiming for an agreement with Stuttgart to return to competitiveness in Formula 1 starting from 2026, the year of the introduction of the new power units from 2026. This agreement is unusual, considering that just over a decade ago a similar collaboration had vanished by decision of the respective CEOs.
From 2026 the Alpine F1 single-seaters will mount Mercedes power units
However, the choice to abandon the internal production of its own power unit to rely on an external engine manufacturer suggests an exit strategy from Paris, aimed at facilitating a future sale of the team. Luca De Meo has so far denied this possibility, but selling the Enstone team could be easier in this new configuration than keeping the complete chassis and engine design package.
The future of the Hypertech Alpine of Viry-Chatillon
The French factory, renamed Hypertech Alpine, will focus on the development of the future Alpine Supercar and on battery technologies, in particular solid-state ones. Part of the engineers currently involved in the Formula 1 project will be reused in the motorsport program, participating in the World Endurance Championship, Formula E and Rally-Raid for partner brands such as Dacia.
Below is the organization of the activities planned in the new Hypertech Alpine in Viry-Chatillon:
Futura Supercar Alpine: the Viry-Châtillon center will be involved in the development of the new Supercar. Technologies for the batteries of the future: it will deal with the short and medium term development of batteries for the brand’s sports cars, also conducting advanced research on the chemistry of very high energy density cells, especially with solid state battery technology, in extreme conditions. New technologies for electric motors: Hypertech Alpine will conduct research and advanced engineering on these technologies in collaboration with Ampere, contributing to the innovations of the next generations of electric vehicles. Motorsport programme: Viry-Châtillon’s motorsport expertise will be expressed through various programmes, including the World Endurance Championship (WEC), customer races, Formula E and Rally-Raid for partners.
The Viry-Chatillon factory will no longer produce F1 engines from 2026 and will be transformed into the Alpine Hypertech center
Furthermore, following a dialogue with employee representatives, Alpine has decided to establish a monitoring unit for Formula 1, with the aim of preserving employees’ knowledge and skills in this discipline, at the service of development projects. Hypertech Alpine. This approach will allow the Viry-Châtillon teams to maintain their expertise in cutting-edge technologies (hardware and software) and protect the Group’s intellectual property, opening the door to a possible return to Formula 1 in the future.
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