The Alpine Formula 1 team is closing in on a deal with Mercedes for a technical partnership that will include engine, gearbox and suspension – and could even start in 2025.
The French manufacturer has been weighing up abandoning its own Renault works engine, with senior management questioning the costs versus benefits of continuing to invest hundreds of millions in its own power unit.
Doubts about the future of the project increased recently when rival Audi announced that it had concluded an exclusive technical partnership with Renault's current fuel and lubricants supplier BP and Castrol.
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With new Alpine F1 advisor Flavio Briatore said to be a key advocate that the team will be best served by taking a customer engine deal, other manufacturers have been sounded out to see if there was any interest in a deal being done.
Those discussions have now been whittled down to involve only Mercedes. Autosport understands that talks between the two parties are at an advanced stage, with Briatore spotted at the German car maker’s motorhome several times over the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
While no final contract has been signed, high-level sources have suggested that the outline terms for a deal have been agreed in principle with the specific details now needing to be sorted.
This next phase of the process could still take several weeks though - and may even drag on longer.
It is understood that the idea being worked on is for the partnership to be similar to what Aston Martin currently has.
As well as taking Mercedes customer engines, Aston Martin also takes its rival’s current rear suspension and gearbox – which effectively means both teams run identical rear ends.
Talks between Alpine and Mercedes have mainly revolved around a deal starting from 2026, when F1 will move to new turbo hybrid power units with an increased reliance on electrical energy.
However, sources have indicated that there is an outside chance the partnership could even start in 2025 if a deal gets concluded early enough.
While a change of engine for next season would trigger some extra effort for Alpine in sorting out new installation for its 2025 car that is already being worked on, a switch to Mercedes would bring a likely immediate competitive boost because it is widely accepted that the current Renault power unit is down on power compared to the opposition.
The timing of any potential deal would also depend on what Renault elects to do with staff at its current F1 engine facility in Viry-Chatillon, with engineers there needing to be put on other activities for the brand if a change happens over the next few months.
Neither Mercedes nor Alpine have commented on the matter, but recently Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made clear that he was open to a customer engine deal.
"That’s a complicated situation because we like the thought of replacing Aston Martin with another team, because of the sheer learning you're doing," Wolff said ahead of the British Grand Prix.
"I think we're set up as an organisation that the more power units, the better it is in terms of accelerating some of the developments or the reliability.
"It didn't go beyond the point of exchanging opinions or having exploratory discussions.
"Alpine [need to] take a decision, do they want to continue with their Formula 1 engine programme or not?
"And only when they have taken that strategic decision, we would dive into our agreements. But we're open-minded, and that's what we have told them."
