From 2026, Alpine will say goodbye to its tradition as an engine manufacturer by becoming a Mercedes customer in light of the new technical regulations. Therefore, 2025 will be the last year the French team will be powered by a Renault engine, as the project has been abandoned due to cost and potential considerations.
Alpine’s management believes that Mercedes’ Power Unit for 2026 offers greater guarantees in terms of competitiveness compared to an internal solution produced by Renault, given the French company’s lack of success with hybrid engine regulations. Since their introduction, Renault’s Power Units have suffered from a power deficit compared to competitors, further solidified when development was frozen.
The supply agreement with Mercedes, which will continue to support three teams in addition to its factory squad, does not only concern the Power Unit but also the gearbox. This is not unusual, as many customer teams choose to purchase not only the engine but also the transmission for practical reasons, completing the package with the rear suspension.
However, some teams, such as McLaren and Sauber, during this regulatory cycle, have opted to design certain gearbox components independently to allow greater design freedom for the rear suspension.
Given its status as a constructor, Alpine has always developed its gearbox internally at its Enstone facility, but for 2026, it has decided to rely on Mercedes’ unit. Interestingly, the agreement for the gearbox is valid for only one year, as the French team will return to building its gearbox independently in 2027, while continuing to use Mercedes Power Units.
According to Team Principal Oliver Oakes, the decision to use Mercedes’ transmission in 2026 is purely practical, as it will give the team one less element to worry about during the development of the cars for the new regulatory cycle. This will allow them to focus on other aspects of the car during a period of significant change and uncertainty due to numerous innovations.
“We’re taking this Mercedes gearbox for one year only, in 2026. This way, we’ll have some breathing room during the regulatory transition and one less thing to worry about,” Oakes said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.
However, in 2027, Alpine will once again equip its cars with a gearbox developed in-house at Enstone, allowing for greater design freedom in the suspension.
“The gearbox designed by us is already in the car and working well, and the same will be true in 2027. It’s just a balancing resource for 2026, and the entire team has designed, produced, built, and operated an excellent gearbox. The current results prove that,” added the Team Principal.
Although 2026 represents an important opportunity to move up the grid, Alpine has explained that it does not want to sacrifice 2025, unlike other teams such as Williams, which are already focusing on the next regulatory change. This approach will not be evident at the start of the year, as attention will be on fielding a competitive car for 2025, but will come into play as the season progresses when resource allocation decisions are made.
After a challenging 2024, during which the French team struggled with an aerodynamic concept change and delays in chassis homologation, it is clear that Alpine does not want to repeat the difficulties experienced last year.
“The balance between 2025 and 2026 is a hot topic, I believe because some teams have talked about sacrificing 2025. I don’t know how much to believe that. Perhaps they’re trying to ease the pressure on themselves because most teams already know in December where they want to go for 2025,” Oakes explained.
“For our part, we want to do well in 2025. We are well aware that it won’t be easy because there are many things to do this year. We know we’d like to go deeper into development and resource balancing for 2026.”
“But I think everyone will be judged over the next three years, and people will evaluate the work we’ve done in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 as a period of time, not just what happens at a single moment in Formula 1.”
“It’s my first role as a Team Principal in Formula 1, but I find it interesting to read online things that many people don’t consider in context, like the type of background there is. The situation we found ourselves in as a team wasn’t just due to the winter. Decisions had already been made long before. And I think it’s always important to look at the bigger picture.”
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