Alpine had been in talks with Andretti Autosport about a possible F1 collaboration, to provide the team with Renault engines for their debut. Vice President of Alpine Bruno Famin earlier announced that the organization was in contact with Andretti about supplying the American team’s engines.
After satisfying the standards set out by the FIA to qualify as an eleventh team, Andretti’s F1 entry was reviewed by Formula 1 Management. Alpine and Andretti went over a possible engine agreement in the past. F1 regulations dictated that in the event of no engine partner, the manufacturer with the fewest customer teams would supply engines, even if the prior pre-contract deal had lapsed.
Alpine and Andretti are in for an all-new partnership
Famin recently stated, “We are talking to Andretti and to General Motors. We are happy to talk to them. If they have an entry we are happy to resume the talks. For the time being it’s a bit on standby but not due to us. The pre-contract has expired. Factually right now we don’t have any commitment or any legal commitment with them, but we’re happy to talk to them and to see what we can do together.”
🚨 | Alpine are open to supplying Andretti with engines if they join Formula 1.
Bruno Famin told @Motorsport that Alpine have already been in talks. pic.twitter.com/ANum4yPzsg
— formularacers (@formularacers_) December 20, 2023
At the moment, the Oxfordshire-based team just provided engines to its crew of workers. Looking ahead, Alpine would continue with its development team while Audi and Honda would power their respective teams, and new Power Unit restrictions would take effect in 2026. On the contrary, Andretti intended to enter the sport alongside Cadillac and General Motors, if their bid received approval.
Alpine declared a complete overhaul with their 2024 F1 car
Alpine faced a challenging Formula 1 season, landing in third position only twice but slipping from fourth to sixth in the world championship rankings. Recognizing the tiny advantages of continuing to improve the existing car, the team decided to focus on implementing significant upgrades for the future model in the upcoming season.
🚨I Alpine Formula 1 Technical Director Matt Harman says that the 2024 car will be new ‘FRONT-TO-BACK’ after the team hit a plateau of development in 2023! #f1 #formula1 #alpinef1 pic.twitter.com/DPGXN2vjB2
— FORMULA ROOM (@formularoom) December 19, 2023
Matt Harman, the technical director for Alpine Formula 1, disclosed that the A524 for the latest campaign will be an entirely fresh design, a makeover from front to back. He said, “We didn’t we didn’t do as well as we did on A522. I think we had a great year [in 2022], that year, I think every time we touched the development of the car, we put load, and we took a lot of weight off the car as well.”
Harman further added, “I think that’s why for the following year’s car, we’ve had to really unlock some real estate again, which is why the car is completely new, front to back. So I think you’ll see that up and down the grid because the car needs to last for a couple of years while we look for the future.” The team reached a developmental standstill in the 2023 campaign, which prompted this decision.