Flavio Briatore is not concerned with rumors that Renault could pull out of Formula 1 completely – the end of the engine program has other reasons.
For years, there has been speculation about whether Renault will eventually withdraw from Formula 1 completely? These rumors gained new fuel last year when the French company decided to at least scrap its own Formula 1 engine program.
From 2026, the works team, which has been competing under the Alpine name since 2021, will race with Mercedes customer engines. According to consultant Flavio Briatore, who returned to Enstone in 2024, there are no plans to sell the entire team.
“I don’t understand these speculations,” he says in an interview with auto motor und sport, and reveals: ”Since I’ve been with Renault, the same questions have always been asked. When we won the world championship title in 2005 and 2006, I was asked whether Renault wanted to stay in Formula 1 any longer.”
Briatore was already team principal of the racing team in the 1990s and 2000s, when it was still called Benetton and was later taken over by Renault. “The truth is: I always got what I needed for the job from Renault,” says the Italian.
“They appreciate that I handle their money carefully. I believe in efficiency. That’s why I’m saving money everywhere in the areas that don’t make my car faster,” he says, explaining the decision to switch to customer engines from 2026.
“The French want to win. With our engine, we won’t win. It’s as simple as that,” he explains pragmatically, emphasizing, ‘If we want to win, we have to give up the areas in which we are not competitive.’
“Alpine-Mercedes” not a problem for Briatore
With the Mercedes engine, “we will have one less problem to worry about in the future,” he emphasizes, adding that he also sees no image problem if Alpine-Renault does not win in the future, but Alpine-Mercedes does.
“McLaren will become world champion with a Mercedes engine. How often have you read or heard that McLaren-Mercedes has become world champion? Never,” says Briatore, and offers another comparison: ‘Haas is Haas and not Haas-Ferrari.’
The Italian explains that there are purely sporting reasons for not relying on Renault engines from 2026. This step is not a sign that the entire Formula 1 team is to be sold in the future.
At least historically, the rumors of Renault’s departure are not completely unfounded, because the French have already left the premier class twice with their own factory team.
The first exit occurred after the 1985 season, before they officially returned in 2002 after previously buying the Benetton team. In 2010, they (gradually) left again before buying the team back for the 2016 season and finally renaming it Alpine in 2021.
