Alpine engine deficit revealed after 'shock' announcement

Outgoing Alpine F1 team principal Bruno Famin has detailed the deficit Renault's F1 power unit has to the competition.

In the opening years of the turbo-hybrid era that began in 2014, Renault struggled for performance with its power unit, leading to an end to the once highly successful partnership with Red Bull.

Since 2021, Renault has solely powered its own works team, however, it is believed the French manufacturer is on the verge of cancelling the project.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Famin confirmed the Renault employees at the Viry factory have been briefed on such a possibility.

“I think the big announcement was on Tuesday, last Tuesday, where we had to make the announcement to the staff in Viry that there was a project to switch to a different power unit from 2026,” he said. 

“And that was really a shock.”

Renault is still generally viewed as possessing the weakest engine in the field, with a development freeze in place since 2022.

Famin detailed it is costing the team two-tenths per lap on average, depending on the track.

“Right now the current engine is a bit down by 15 kilowatts,” he stated. “I think it’s what FIA figures are saying.

“Renault really missed the point in 2014 when the current regulation was born with the two hybrid systems - Renault totally missed. 

“But now we are 10 to 15 kilowatts down. The power unit is, let’s say, on average two-tenths of lap time.”