Renault CEO Luca de Meo insists a final decision about the fate of the French carmaker’s works Formula 1 engine program is yet to be taken.
At Monza last weekend, scores of upset and striking employees of the F1 engine factory in Viry-Chatillon staged a peaceful protest from the grandstands.
They believe the decision to scrap Renault’s F1 engine program, and instead equip the Alpine team with customer Mercedes engines from 2026, has already been taken - with only unions and labour laws preventing it from being made official.
But Renault CEO de Meo, who according to Alpine team advisor Flavio Briatore is behind the preliminary engine decision, insists: "No decision has been made yet."
However, he doesn’t deny that it’s a very real possibility.
"We have four or five weeks to determine the next steps ahead of the board meeting," said the Italian. "We are evaluating all opportunities."
De Meo admits that he finds the idea of switching to a competitive customer engine very appealing.
"If we look at this from a purely financial point of view - how expensive it is to develop an engine for 2026 yourself, and how much could you save with a customer engine - then we are talking about a huge difference," he said.
"Those who look at the numbers see that we could enter the new era of Formula 1 with a more powerful but less expensive package. But there are many factors to consider when making a decision.
"What does the marketing department think about this? What negative consequences, including financial ones, could there be in the event of this move?
"Our ambition is to create a competitive project. Therefore, when choosing, we take into account many factors, and we do this with special care."
De Meo also reassured the 350 or so staff at Viry-Chatillon that the factory will be completely converted from F1 engines to future-looking Renault technologies.
"We already have very capable and trained individuals who are not only working on the Formula 1 project," he said. "We have launched significant innovative projects, not only in motorsports."