As French driver Esteban Ocon described Renault’s decision to scrap its Formula 1 engine division as a “sad situation”.
Renault was to be with Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Red Bull Powertrains-Ford and Audi one of the engine manufacturers from 2026 when the new generation of engines comes into play, with a 50/50 distribution between electric energy and a combustion engine internally running on fully sustainable biofuels. However, Renault abandoned its project in Viry.
The French manufacturer has ended its 2026 F1 engine project, meaning its Alpine team will stop using the Renault engine after the 2025 season and move to customer team status from the following year, when New chassis regulations will arrive at the same time as the new engines.
And Ocon, who took his only F1 victory to date with the Renault engine at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, was asked for his thoughts on Renault’s decision today in Austin. Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of the season to join Haas F1 from next season.
“Yes, as a driver of the team, it’s difficult to comment on that, but as a Frenchman, you know, a fan of this sport, and as a French driver, all I can say is is that it’s a sad situation.”
“It’s very sad for French motorsport, but I have nothing more to say.”
With six rounds remaining in the 2024 F1 season, Alpine sit 9th in the Constructors’ Championship with 13 points, putting them three points behind Williams, with Alpine failing to score a point in the last three rounds. .
When asked if the Circuit of the Americas should be a good circuit for the Alpine A524, Ocon replied: “I mean, we’re obviously coming off a tough series of races with the performance of the car. It’s very clear.”
“Unfortunately, we maximized the potential in Singapore, but you know, it wasn’t enough for us to score points.”
“Pierre will benefit from the developments. I will be running the old specification this weekend, and we should hopefully have the updates for the next races.”
“So yeah, we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s going to do, you know, for the team’s performance, and we’re hoping it puts us in a better position to finish the season.”
