Former Alpine Legal Manager Confirms Future Switch to Mercedes Engines

Rumors over whether the Renault group will pull the plug on their Formula 1 engine program have been rife since the turbo hybrid regulations were introduced in 2014. Although they've remained in the sport despite several quit threats, the results haven't improved, and now the legendary French brand could exit the sport for good at the end of 2024.

This wouldn't be the first time the Enstone-based outfit has used customer engines. In 2015 then known as Lotus the team switched to Mercedes power, with Romain Grosjean finishing third at the Belgian Grand Prix the lone bright spot in a season mired by off-track financial woes.

The news is expected to end Renault's over 40-year involvement in F1 and confirm the loss of 500 or more jobs at the team's engine facility at Viry-Châtillon.

'Cowardly' management not on-site to deliver the shock news

In between the Hungarian and Belgian GPs, Renault told staff at the engine base they would be out of work at the end of 2024. But the group's CEO Luca De Meo didn't deliver the message in person, a sign in the eyes of Chauty of 'cowardice and avoidance of responsibility.'

De Meo told the British publication Autocar in June that the Renault group would not sell the team despite receiving several offers from interested buyers.

Former Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi is also partly blamed for the company's decline. According to Chauty under Rossi’s leadership, the company suffered a talent drain, creating a culture of poor ethical standards.

"Talking about cowardice, Laurent Rossi's tenure as CEO of Alpine is another example of poor leadership and complete lack of humanity," said Chauty in a scathing LinkedIn post. "He laid off numerous employees for purely political reasons, targeting those he deemed too close to the previous management, without even having the decency to speak to them in person, leaving the dirty work to HR (and, obviously, without any consideration for the relevant departments).

"Rossi's disregard for internal compliance policies and his miserable ethical standards further exacerbated the situation. His decisions have led to a significant loss of talent and experience, driving the brand and the F1 team into its current predicament."

Rossi falls on his sword as strikes loom

Rossi's ruthlessness was seen first-hand in the winter of 2022 when he fired two key members of Alpine management, including director Marcin Budkowski and advisor Alain Prost. In November 2022, following the embarrassing loss of the team’s talented reserve driver Oscar Piastri to McLaren for 2023, its director of legal affairs, Benedicte Mercer was sacked.

In 2023, Rossi and de Meo announced that the Alpine brand would enter the American market in 2027 and introduce a seven-model range for 2030 as part of a plan to create a French Ferrari. Not that Rossi would ever see the models come into production, as he, too, would be fired from his role as CEO of the company in July 2023 and replaced by Philippe Krief.

The boardroom drama transferred to the track when, midway through last July's Belgian GP, team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane were fired, leaving Bruno Famin in charge.

But Famin hasn't been able to stop the management merry-go-round, with technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer leaving the team after a disastrous Bahrain GP in which neither car scored.

The news of the impending switch has understandably gone down badly with the workforce, who could strike to protest the group's decision. If they were to walk out, Alpine could be without engines at some races in 2024, potentially adding further embarrassment to the already beleaguered team according to F1 insider Joe Saward.

"Personal considerations set aside, Alpine's partnership with Mercedes might bring technical benefits, but the human consequences are disastrous," added Chauty. "The loss of skilled and experienced personnel is a setback from which Alpine and potentially Groupe Renault will not recover, and the impact on the 500+ employees at Viry-Châtillon, including many contractors who will be terminated almost immediately without any safety net, is heartbreaking."