Renault’s Viry-Chatillon-based staff is planning on demonstrating against Alpine’s plan to become a Mercedes customer in Formula 1’s new engine era from 2026 onwards.
The French brand is poised to end its F1 engine project, which has been a mainstay of the world championship for the past 47 years.
This led the Social and Economic Council (CSE) of Alpine employees to publish a scathing statement last week, lamenting Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo’s call as “betraying its legend and its DNA by grafting a Mercedes heart into our F1 Alpine [car]”.
The decision could be confirmed on 30 September, with engine employees calling out the Renault leadership for allegedly ignoring their attempts to engage in dialogue.
As a consequence, Viry-Chatillon employees are ramping up their fight to save their F1 future and are planning peaceful protests this weekend as the championship convenes in Monza.
The CSE has announced that Alpine Racing collaborators will gather in the grandstands on Friday, displaying “a clear and non-aggressive message advocating for the continuation of a French engine in F1”. They will be wearing white shirts sporting the Alpine logo and the #ViryOnTrack message, as well as black armbands.
The CSE has clarified that this action will not disrupt track activity in any way.
However, the CSE is also warning that “a large majority” of Renault’s engine staff at Viry-Chatillon will go on strike simultaneously and express its discontent “in a respectful but determined atmosphere”.
Whether the strike will affect Alpine’s prospects in the Italian Grand Prix, and to what extent, is currently unclear.
Both Alpine F1 drivers were unsurprisingly asked about the conflict in their respective media sessions on Thursday in the Monza paddock and were cautious not to take sides.
Keen to focus on driving, Esteban Ocon commented: “It is, from what I heard, some peaceful protests. People want to talk, obviously, which is completely normal. And I hope that there will be some conversations between the parties.”
Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly added: “I have absolutely no power or control over that situation. It's a team and top management topic.”
“So from this point of view, I'm focusing on my race, and the best thing I can do to every employee of the team is perform the best way I can on the track. To give them the rewards of all the hard work that every single employee is doing. That's my role in the team and that's what I'll focus on.”
“I understand all parties. […] At the end of the day, hopefully everyone will come out of it with a good option.”
Alpine was approached for comment by Motorsport.com and issued the following statement: “We are aware of some activities planned this weekend from staff of Viry. We understand from their communication these will be peaceful protests and will not impact team operations.
“The transformation project is still being evaluated and no decision has been taken yet by Alpine’s management. The dialogue, which opened since the project was presented to the Viry employee representatives in July, is important to Alpine’s management and will be pursued in the upcoming weeks.”
Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov
