F1
Jobs threatened, project unclear: employees ofAlpine in Viry “deplore” the decision of the Renault Group
© Alpine
After the shock, indignation and anger. In the aftermath of the official announcement of the end of the F1 engine program in 2026 decided by the Group Renault, the staff representatives ofAlpine Racing at Viruses-Châtillon reacted via a press release published this Tuesday afternoon. The CSE ofAlpine Racing has published an “unfavorable opinion” on the decision taken by the parent company.
Staff representatives "regret and deplore" obviously the killing of the Renault engine in Formula 1 for 2026, they who have tried by all means to defend the project and the program, whether through demonstrations or through an attempt at dialogue with Luca de Meo, director of the Renault Group, in vain.
"This choice is endorsed by the Group, which wishes to reduce the financial risk surrounding F1, even though no serious study has been conducted to assess the impact on future sales and the prestige of the brand, can we read in this press release. Partnership solutions were rejected by the Group, even though they would have made it possible to meet several objectives: maintaining F1 activity, reducing development and operating costs, maintaining all skills, the possibility of bringing an already largely developed and promising RE26 engine to the 2026 season.
A Hypertech project Alpine still too vague
Representatives also question the new Hypertech project Alpine, which the Renault Group sells as a "center of engineering excellence" bringing together all the sporting activities of its brands (Endurance, Formula E, Rally-Raid…). According to them, "the content, resources and sustainability of the new projects that the Management wishes to bring to Viry still appear largely imprecise", while the "sizing" famous monitoring cell promised by the Diamond for engine activity in F1 seems to them "still too weak and calls into question the potential return ofAlpine as an engine manufacturer in the long term."
To support this, employees ofAlpine evokes the history of the Viry-Châtillon site which has already experienced phases of standby in the past, at the end of the 1980s and at the end of the 1990s, where Renault had each time returned to Formula 1 after a period of absence as an engine manufacturer, which "demonstrates the importance of maintaining highly qualified skills for the future in order to leave the door open to a return to F1 when the regulations and the financial context of the shareholder make it more attractive", specify the staff representatives ofAlpine Racing in Viry.
A decision that "passes Alpine next to its sporting history »
More specifically, the CSE deplores the short-term consequences on direct and indirect jobs of such a decision: according to staff representatives, "The Viry-Châtillon site will go from 1 to 500 jobs on January 334, with the end of the contracts of many service providers". A hundred indirect jobs at the main partners are also threatened, while the Concours d'Excellence Mécanique Alpine (CEMA), organized by the A fléché in Viry and supported by the government, should end.
In conclusion of the press release published this Tuesday, the staff representatives ofAlpine Racing at Viry-Châtillon evokes a "decision against the grain" , here "passes Alpine next to its sporting history », with the threat of a brain drain. CSE staff representatives are now calling "the public authorities to defend the sustainability of employment on the Viry-Châtillon site".
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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vincent moyet
01/10/2024 at 11:28 a.m.
What prestige can Renault hope to gain from a team that is sliding to the back of the grid? What partnerships when no one wants this engine, Renault being the only engine manufacturer that does not get financial returns from the sale of engines to customer teams? What seems likely is that Gasly and Doohan will suffer next year in the hope of taking off from the last row... Next step, the resale orchestrated by Il Magnifico who will receive his commission for having been mandated to scuttle the ship.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
02/10/2024 at 02:15 a.m.
The logical continuation of events under the leadership of the "King of Cheaters" Flavio who must, by the way, certainly take a max,😡🤬!
Yves-Henri RANDIER
01/10/2024 at 10:24 a.m.
"A decision that makes it happen Alpine next to its sporting history". To see ... especially if Alpine triumph in WEC! And it's better to stop the costs now rather than early 2026 if the package turns out to be out of the question... It reminds me of Peugeot's decision to leave Endurance at the beginning of 2012 when the 908s were already shipped to Sebring! In this case, all the investments for the 2012 season and Le Mans 2012 were already made... for nothing at a time when PSA was in financial trouble!