Alpine have gone from anonymous to embarrassing
FINAL CORNER, CHEQUERED FLAG: The Renault team's decline
Increased scrutiny from closer competition at the front of the F1 grid has naturally led to decreased attention for the teams fighting for the scraps at the back.
The top four teams are now fighting against each other for pole positions, podiums and wins in a tight championship battle.
This is the sport at its absolute best, with seven winners from 13 races making things unpredictable and exciting each week.
But the battle at the back is as important as ever, with the constructors standings still as close as we'd expect.
Among this, Alpine have become an anonymous fixture of the F1 grid.
Pierre Gasly didn’t even start the British Grand Prix, and he failed to finish in Hungary, with both retirements barely even covered on the live broadcast.
Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon finished 16th at Silverstone and 18th in Budapest, a good distance from threatening the top 10 points scorers.
There have been some good results for the Renault works team this season, but it has still been a steep decline compared to where they were in 2023 and 2022.
The new regulations saw Alpine get off to a solid start, coming fourth in the standings despite some serious mechanical issues.
Dropping to sixth in 2023 was a sign of things to come, but both French drivers still brought home one podium each to give everyone something to celebrate.
But it’s been a disaster ever since pre-season testing in Bahrain earlier this year, and things have barely improved.
It has since been reported that Renault are considering becoming a Mercedes customer in 2026, dropping their own engine project — based in Viry in France.1
The Renault engine has underdelivered compared to its rivals throughout this hybrid era, which led to a very public split with Red Bull in 2018.
It has previously been speculated by people within the team that it is down roughly 20-30 horsepower compared to the other three manufacturers.
Former team principal Otmar Szafneur also revealed that they were not operating to the same level financially as their rivals even with the budget cap in place.2
Completely abandoning the power-train project ahead of the new rules in 2026 would be a new level of embarrassing, especially for such a major brand.
The 2026 engine formula has been successful in attracting new suppliers, which is a real coup for F1.
The more big names involved the better.
Audi and Ford will be on the grid, and Honda will return in partnership with Aston Martin.
That makes this an exciting time for fans, to see these big car companies going into battle against each other to build the best and fastest racing cars in the world.
But the Alpine brand, owned by Renault, will be using Mercedes supplied engines in 2026.
This is a pathetic next step for the team, even if it might make them more competitive in 2026 than if they stuck with their own work.
The Enstone team that builds the Alpine car has been in F1 for decades, and enjoyed championship success with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.
They deserve better than this.
Renault have under-funded, under-delivered and over-promised during their time back in the sport as a full works team, and this is the ultimate sign that they can’t compete with the best, so they may as well not even try.
This move has been made since the return of Flavio Briatore to the team, a man who was once banned from motorsport for life (which has since been overturned) for his role in fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix… with Renault!
The reputational damage of this move surely only has one end: the sale of the team to an outside investor, with the French company walking away from the sport for good.
It’s unlikely Andretti will be taking over the Enstone team any time soon, but the pedigree in that factory means there should be no shortage of potential buyers.
However, it would be a real shame to lose Renault from F1, especially with so many other big names lining up to get involved.
Even Toyota have been linked with a possible return, albeit not in an engine development capacity.3
Not only will Mercedes supply Renault engines for 2026, but they will also be giving them a gearbox and rear suspension, further restricting the Enstone factory’s independence.
At a time when Aston Martin are abandoning this same agreement that they have with Mercedes, showing fantastic ambition by building their own car with a works-Honda deal, Renault are opting to go in the opposite direction.
This maybe raises the floor of Enstone’s potential, and the Mercedes engine should ensure they’ll be a solid midfield outfit in 2026.
But it also limits their ceiling, and guarantees they won’t be fighting for titles.
While McLaren have shown customers can compete with their supplier, they are actually increasing their standing with Mercedes for 2026 and will have a near de facto works status, further increasing their chances of success.
McLaren have also invested in great, modern infrastructure while Renault have stood still and invested nothing.
This decision is yet another step that brings this team further from the front, but makes them an appealing asset to buy for someone looking to break into the sport.
Prediction corner
The Alpine/Enstone team will finish in the bottom half of the standings in 2026.
Quote of the week
“I’m a three-time world champion, I think I know quite well what I can do and what I can’t do,” - Max Verstappen, who wants everyone to know he hasn’t been banned for gaming.
Driver Power Rankings - Britain & Hungary
Lewis Hamilton’s experience shone through at Silverstone, with a great drive that showed he’s still at the top of his game on race days, and he brought home his 200th podium at the Hungaroring, the first driver to ever reach that milestone.
Both McLaren drivers drove well over these two races, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to split them, but Piastri gets the nod here for claiming a maiden win.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda continues to make a strong argument that he deserves a shot in the Red Bull if Sergio Perez is dumped, despite crashing out in Q3 in Hungary.
Fernando Alonso finished behind Lance Stroll in both of these races, but had the better pace and was unfortunate to suffer from strategy errors, while Nico Hulkenberg brought home an impressive sixth in Britain.
Verstappen was also strong at Silverstone, but his Hungarian performance left a lot to be desired, particularly given how far ahead he is in the championship.
Race Ratings - Britain & Hungary
The British Grand Prix delivered an exciting, unpredictable battle at the front that saw five different drivers in contention for the win at different stages.
Lewis Hamilton broke his win drought at home, while McLaren fumbled the victory for both of their drivers to cause further scrutiny over their readiness for a title fight.
This was F1 at its finest, and let’s hope this becomes the standard for races after the summer break. 4/5.
Hungary was a bit quieter in terms of on-track battle, but it delivered in spades when it came to drama regardless.
While some may not have enjoyed this one as much as I did, this was some of the most fun I’ve had watching the sport in a while, and Oscar Piastri earned a deserved first win, even if McLaren and Lando Norris almost accidentally conspired against him. 3/5.
Storyline to follow - post-Belgium
The storyline to follow is that there likely won’t be much happening over the next month outside of the driver market due to the summer break.
Hope everyone enjoys their four weeks off!
Source: Motorsportweek
Source: Racing News 365