Alpine boss drops major F1 2026 engine hint with two big names in contention

Alpine boss Bruno Famin may be on his way out the door after the conclusion of the Belgian Grand Prix, but he has just offered a strong hint about the team’s potential engine supplier for F1 2026.

During the Friday FIA press conference with team bosses ahead of the Belgian GP, Bruno Famin mentioned the potential future of Alpine’s power unit development — and some manufacturers it could purchase its PU from.

Alpine to explore Mercedes, Ferrari engine deals?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Formula 1 is fast approaching F1 2026, a season that will introduce a slew of new regulations, and rumours have swirled over recent weeks that Renault will pull the plug on its own Formula 1 power unit operation.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the Belgian Grand Prix, Famin confirmed that Alpine is looking at other options for its future power unit.

“There is a bit of potential in developing the integration,” Famin said, referring to Alpine’s possibly taking on a different manufacturer’s PU, “ but it’s quite theoretical at the end of the story, because now all the PU manufacturers are working very closely, very early in the project with the teams, and all the integration are incredibly optimized.”

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However, Famin offered a hint about what the future could look like for Alpine should it become a customer of another manufacturer.

“If we take a Ferrari or Mercedes engine, I’m quite convinced that all the integration, all the packaging will be already very, very good,” he said.

Famin also addressed concerns that the Alpine Formula 1 program would be effectively pointless without the team developing its own in-house Renault units.

“The Formula 1 project remains a key project for the Alpine brand,” he confirmed.

“It’s thanks to Formula 1 that we want to develop the brand awareness globally. That remains, but the project is just reallocating the resources to develop the brand better always based on the pillar of motorsport and mainly Formula 1 to develop the awareness.”

Renault’s power unit decision, however, cannot exist in a vacuum, and one primary point of contention revolves round the workforce that has been developing these Renault PUs.

Famin addressed concerns that French labour unions could put a damper on Alpine’s decision to effectively kill its engine development, saying, “No, I don’t expect any delay.

“The process will take some weeks and it will be quite fast anyway.

“We are following all the mandatory steps and there is no reason not to make it properly.

“However, he also confirmed that the existing workforce will retain employment in some capacity.

“A very important thing in the project which has been presented: every single employee will be offered a job,” he confirmed.

“There is no redundancy at all. And we are doing everything to make potentially, because again, it’s still a project, but if it’s confirmed, to make a very difficult moment as less painful as possible.

“But we know it’s never easy, this kind of thing.”

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