Alpine is looking to ditch Renault power units for the 2026 regulations, according to journalist

F1 journalist Joe Saward claimed that Alpine might be considering ditching the Renault engines for the 2026 regulations. The French team has been the only one on the grid to use the engines made by their parent company Renault in the past couple of years.

There have been several instances in the past when the reliability of the engines made in Viry has been called into question in recent years and is arguably the slowest on the grid behind, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Honda.

In his blog, "Green Notebook", Saward wrote about Alpine's intention to switch away from making their engines due to the high finances incurred. He also pointed out that the move could allow Alpine to get a more competitive engine and shift their focus to the engine side for Le Mans. Saward said:

"The firm is looking to get an alternative engine supply in 2026, although it is saying nothing at the moment. Getting out of building engines makes sense because the team might get hold of a competitive power unit without needing to spend money to develop one."

"This would save hundreds of millions of dollars and car manufacturer bosses like saving money more than anything, as it means that shareholders do not chase after them with axes when they get paid absurd amounts of salary."

He further went on to claim that stopping the manufacturing of engines could result in Alpine "saving $650 million and getting a more competitive car" for the future.

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Alpine team boss chimes in on the equal treatment to its drivers in the 2024 season

Alpine F1 team principal Bruno Famin stated that they would be giving equal treatment to their drivers despite Esteban Ocon's exit from the team at the end of the 2024 season.

As per Motorsport.com, Famin said that they would not be discarding the 27-year-old from the team discussions despite him leaving them:

“We will not put aside Esteban at all. He will have exactly the same condition as Pierre. They are on the same level, same status. We know they are very close in terms of performance, and it won't be good to do something different for anybody."

He further emphasized that the French driver could count on the team's support while they expected the same in return and push the team forward for the remainder of their time together adding:

“I think Esteban can count on all the team to help him to get the best result because Esteban having the best result is helping the team have the best possible result. We count on Esteban to bring everything he can bring to the team."

Alpine are currently P8 in the Constructor's Championships with 5 points in the nine races and two Sprints thus far. They are just two points behind Haas in the standings, who made a flying start to the year in the first half of the season.