Renault CEO Luca de Meo has clarified that a conclusive decision regarding the future of the company's Formula 1 engine program has not yet been reached.
At Monza last weekend, numerous disgruntled employees from Renault's F1 engine facility in Viry-Chatillon organized a peaceful demonstration from the grandstands.
These employees suspect that Renault has already decided to shut down its F1 engine program and transition to using customer Mercedes engines for the Alpine team from 2026, with the decision only being delayed due to union negotiations and labour laws.
However, Renault's CEO de Meo, who Alpine team advisor Flavio Briatore claims is behind this preliminary decision about the engines, insists: "No decision has been made yet."
Nevertheless, he does not discount the possibility of such a decision being made soon.
"We have four or five weeks to determine the next steps ahead of the board meeting," stated the Italian. "We are evaluating all opportunities."
De Meo has acknowledged that the concept of switching to a competitive customer engine is quite appealing from a financial standpoint.
"If we look at this from a purely financial point of view - how expensive it is to develop an engine for 2026 yourself, and how much could you save with a customer engine - then we are talking about a huge difference," he explained.
"Those who look at the numbers see that we could enter the new era of Formula 1 with a more powerful but less expensive package. But there are many factors to consider when making a decision. What does the marketing department think about this? What negative consequences, including financial ones, could there be in the event of this move?"
"Our ambition is to create a competitive project. Therefore, when choosing, we take into account many factors, and we do this with special care."
De Meo also provided some reassurance to the approximately 350 staff members at Viry-Chatillon, stating that the facility will be entirely transformed to focus on future Renault technologies beyond just F1 engines.
"We already have very capable and trained individuals who are not only working on the Formula 1 project," he said. "We have launched significant innovative projects, not only in motorsports."
