Renault has left the door open for resuming discussions with Andretti, aiding their aspirations to join the elite racing series. This development comes after Andretti’s initial hopes were dampened last year when their early customer engine deal with Renault and Alpine “expired” amidst growing pressure from Liberty Media and the ten existing F1 teams.
Alpine interim boss Bruno Famin explained the situation back then, stating, “It (the contract) was completely dependent on whether they could get entry into Formula 1, and they didn’t get that at the time.” However, the scenario may be shifting. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem pointed out that Renault can’t simply deny Andretti an engine, referencing rules that require engine manufacturers to supply customer teams if needed. “It will probably be Alpine or Honda because that’s just the rules,” he added.
Adding to Andretti’s momentum, General Motors stepped into the fray in November, registering as a full F1 engine supplier for 2028 under the Cadillac brand. This development means Andretti would only need a customer engine until then. With these changes, Famin’s recent statement to Speedweek offers a glimmer of hope: “We spoke to Andretti and General Motors and if they get started, we’ll be happy to resume the discussions. At the moment everything is on hold because everything took a little longer than originally expected and that preliminary agreement expired. But we would be happy to sit down at the table with Andretti to find a common solution.”
