Renault boss Luca de Meo has announced a meeting with disgruntled Alpine employees in Viry-Chatillon – what the workforce would like to learn
The workforce at the Renault plant in Viry-Chatillon, France, is wavering between uncertainty and anger: Because Alpine is considering switching from its own engines to Mercedes engines from the 2026 season, the engine plant near Paris is on the brink of collapse – and the employees fear for their jobs
At a protest in Monza, the employees have already vented their anger and demanded an open discussion with Renault boss Luca de Meo. A wish that now seems to be coming true, as the Italian will travel to Viry-Chatillon at the end of this week to hold a direct dialog.
According to a press release: “The Social and Economic Council (CSE) of Alpine Racing, the engine manufacturer of the French Formula 1 team, has scheduled a meeting with Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, for Friday, September 20.”
The aim of the meeting is to inform the Italian “of the lack of understanding regarding the end of the development of Formula 1 engines in France at the Viry-Châtillon site, a unique technology in France”. The staff representatives thank Mr. De Meo for his benevolent response to this request.
Alpine switch to Mercedes still open
However, it is still unclear which engines the Alpine team will use for the 2026 Formula 1 season. Speaking to Motorsport.com earlier this month, de Meo assured that the final decision had not yet been made and that the board had not yet decided
September 30, however, remains an important deadline to see which direction will be taken and which strategy will be pursued. Since the end of the Formula 1 summer break at the end of August, the staff at Viry-Chatillon have been largely fighting peacefully for their future.
In particular, they have published some figures on the planned engine for the 2026 season to demonstrate its credibility and legitimacy. However, on the Friday before the Italian Grand Prix, a strike was also called at the plant. At the same time, some of them were present in Monza with banners and T-shirts to demand that the project be maintained.
Now that Flavio Briatore and Oliver Oakes have taken over the helm of the Formula 1 team, Alpine’s future policy will have to deal with economic, sporting and marketing issues, as abandoning its own engine could lead to a loss of image. However, Luca de Meo assured us that the team is still not for sale.