The countdown can begin: Renault Formula 1 engines will contest just 30 more grands prix before being consigned to history.
The third most successful engine manufacturer by wins in F1 history (including its nine triumphs branded as ‘TAG Heuer’ in 2016-18) has decided not to build power units for the championship’s new regulations in 2026.With this decision, Renault is swimming against the current: Audi will arrive as a full works team in 2026; Honda has performed a U-turn on its 2021 exit and will return with Aston Martin; Ford is also rejoining in an alliance with Red Bull. Meanwhile, Ferrari and Mercedes are happy where they are.
Taken at face value, Renault’s decision is a strange one. A huge opportunity exists for an engine manufacturer to acquire an untouchable performance advantage over their rivals in 2026.
While Mercedes were crushing the competition, Renault’s works team Red Bull suffered a stunning reversal of fortunes following their four consecutive championship successes. On discovering how uncompetitive their power units were team principal Christian Horner, consultant Helmut Marko and chief technical officer Adrian Newey headed to meet Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn in a vain effort to persuade him to increase spending on their F1 effort.
Newey recalled with dismay that “Ghosn’s reply was ‘well, I have no interest in Formula 1, I’m only in it because my marketing people say I should be’.”
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Red Bull later found success again with Honda, who Newey is eager to work with again when he joins Aston Martin at the beginning of next year to start work on their 2026 project. “I’ll be very pleased to stay working with Honda,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with them over the last six years at Red Bull. Great bunch of engineers.”
But while customer engines may be competitive at the moment, Newey has no doubt that having a works power unit will be essential when F1’s new power unit regulations arrive.
Asked what Aston Martin need to focus on to make the best of the opportunity it faces in 2026, Newey replied: “Any Formula 1 team’s the same. They have three principal departments, which is aerodynamics, mechanical design and vehicle performance, or vehicle dynamics, it comes under those names. So it will be making sure that we try to have synergy between those departments.
“And with Honda on the PU side because there’ll be a huge – probably more than ever – interaction between the PU and the chassis.”
In its press release which hyped up the creation of its ‘Hypertech Alpine’ division and confirmed the scrapping of its F1 engine programme in the final paragraphs, Renault didn’t so much as address the question of how its future cars will be powered. But when the rumours of Viry-Chatillon’s fate first surfaced, Alpine’s team principal at the time claimed taking a customer engine would not put them at too great a disadvantage.
“There is a bit of potential in developing the integration, 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 integrations are incredibly optimised,” said Bruno Famin.
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“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.”
Was he right, or is Newey? It’s unusual to hear any F1 team boss admit, as Famin did, that they are voluntarily sacrificing performance, however little. There isn’t much talk of that at Aston Martin, as Lawrence Stroll pours money into upgrading every facet of their operation.
No wonder so many believe today’s announcement has less to do with Alpine’s long-term potential, and instead indicates Renault’s intention to sell up and complete its withdrawal from F1.
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Robert Williams (@weiliwen)
30th September 2024, 18:38
Wow, talk about a half-hearted return to F1. I guess I can’t blame them; they’ve been a mess from the start. Maybe they’ll sell the team to Andretti?
Bob2 (@bob2)
1st October 2024, 3:42
Unlikely there will be an Andretti team now. Perhaps a team “Group 1001”
JackL
1st October 2024, 14:41
“claimed taking a customer engine would not put them at too great a disadvantage”, yes because the chassis was terrible, and the leadership even worse.
I hope they sell to Andretti. Like theyre investor Ryan Reynolds, theyre becoming a joke.
Nick T.
30th September 2024, 21:25
An extremely smart decision no matter how predisposed people are to mocking Renault/Alpine or Briatore who was not behind the decision (I’d give more credit if he was). There is zero point in keeping a customer engine if you’re not going to invest enough in it for it to be competitive and especially without customers.
I’m more shocked they signed Doohan than about this PU decision. I think Jack is a great guy, but talk about wasting an opportunity to maybe discover a diamond in the rough.
Bob2 (@bob2)
1st October 2024, 3:46
Probably a bit harsh on Doohan, that said, who knows who will be the 2 seats next year. If there is a change of ownership it will be interesting to see where the contracts fall.
JMDan (@danmar)
1st October 2024, 3:02
Renault can no longer afford to develop its own engine now that they have to pay Adrian Newey. :-)
grat
1st October 2024, 3:42
…. huh?
tielemst
1st October 2024, 9:32
If that is the case Stroll sr. is an absolute genius.
Cranberry
1st October 2024, 7:56
Renault has made it quite clear for a full decade now, that they are only in F1 because they have to be, they’ll do the bare minimum but they will not invest in it. Goodriddance, I say.
This perhaps serves to better highlight a problem with F1’s strict regulations and how underdogs (teams or engines) perceive the landscape of competition. “There is little hope of catching up, if you ever get left behind.”
Shame on F1 for not being more competitive, suffocating innovation.
MacLeod (@macleod)
1st October 2024, 8:20
Indeed I completly agree with you.
Hibbie
1st October 2024, 8:14
The French are waving the white flag again.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
1st October 2024, 14:38
Renault were the ones who got the closest PU to what they wanted when the new rules were decided for 2014. Since then (excluding Honda’s initial issues) they’ve consistently made the worst PU.
It makes sense for them to leave, they haven’t and clearly don’t believe they can make a decent PU vs the current competitors in F1.
Nick T.
2nd October 2024, 18:30
Yes. So, the real question is why do they keep framing the move like this. As I said below, I’m sure Flavio’s presence plays a big part in that.
gogathejedi
1st October 2024, 14:45
By switching Renault current engine to any of rival’s, you don’t sacrifice performance, you even gain s’more.
Nick T.
2nd October 2024, 18:28
The title should be “What is Alpine Giving Up By Scrapping Its F1 Engine Program?” It’s a far better question and way to frame the move, but the English media will always be framing stories about them in this manner while Flavio is there.