Mercedes F1 Chief Always Open To Potential Alpine Partnership

Mercedes has expressed its openness to potentially supplying engines to Alpine from 2025. Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff indicated this during the team’s press conference at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix.

There have been many rumors recently that Alpine are considering moving away from Renault engines in the future, with Mercedes the main team linked with the French squad. Acknowledging the speculation, Wolff commented, as quoted by Crash.net:

“You know, I think it’s a complicated situation because we like to think, you know, replace Aston Martin with another team because of the study you do. unit, better in terms of speeding up some development or reliability,” he said.

“So this is where it is. I’m not beyond the point of exchanging opinions or having like, you know, exploratory discussions. I think Alpine will take a decision, do they want to continue the Formula 1 engine program. or not?

“And only when they take a strategic decision, we will dive into our agreement.

Now, Renault-owned Alpine is thinking of ending its engine development project, which could give it room to become a customer rather than a manufacturer. Renault has faced ongoing challenges with F1 engine regulations since its inception in 2014, affecting performance and partnerships, notably losing Red Bull as a Honda customer in 2019.

The wider implications of Alpine’s decision are significant, with Mercedes scheduled to supply engines to three teams in 2026: itself, McLaren, and Williams.

Zak Brown, McLaren Executive Director, supported the potential partnership, citing the benefits for Mercedes-Benz High Performance Powertrains (HPP) and the consequences for McLaren. He commented:

“Yes, from our point of view, what is good for HPP is good for McLaren during us. for that. And as far as the timeframe of the decision, I think you can quickly make a decision on any decision that makes only a better time for preparations.

“I would imagine they will want to make a decision before the summer break to give them plenty of time to learn about the power unit and how it works.”

Williams boss James Vowles agreed with Wolff and Brown’s comments, explaining:

“Zak and Toto spoke eloquently. The more power you have in circulation, the more learning you have. There is no doubt about that in the current season. But I think it’s also fair to say that I’m not sure where McLaren and Mercedes are.

“But from our point of view, we’ve been working with HPP to get the right concept for ’26 for months. And whatever you do, you’re going to be six to 12 months behind the other three teams. .That’s pretty damning. in the grand scheme of things.

“It does not mean that it is unachievable, but there will be areas where you will compromise on it. There is a huge amount of work to get ’26 right. And the smallest decision in planning can actually have quite a big impact.”