Renault chief Provost plants Alpine flag in F1: “We’re staying for a long time”
Monza paddock walks can be revealing. On Saturday at the Italian Grand Prix, Renault Group’s new boss François Provost did the rounds with Flavio Briatore at his side, made a few low-key briefings, and delivered a simple, pointed message about Alpine’s future in Formula 1: they’re not going anywhere.
It was Provost’s first race weekend since taking over from Luca de Meo, and he used it to kill off a familiar rumour mill. Despite shuttering Renault’s in-house 2026 power unit project and moving to customer status, the company’s commitment to the world championship remains intact.
“My visit aims mainly to reaffirm we’re staying in Formula 1,” Provost told French TV. “We’re staying in Formula 1 for a long time.”
That line matters. Alpine is resetting for the 2026 rules with a very different blueprint: no longer a works power unit outfit, it will bolt Mercedes engines into its cars when the new regulations arrive. It’s a pragmatic call that trims costs and complexity while shifting the focus to chassis and operations — exactly where Alpine has been trying to find clear air.
The optics in Monza backed up the intent. Briatore, the team’s executive advisor, was front-and-centre with Provost, and the new management spine is starting to show. Ex-FIA sporting director Steve Nielsen has been hired as managing director and will report to Briatore day-to-day. It’s a structure designed for quicker decision-making and fewer excuses.
Provost called it a “new era” for the team — a performance era, yes, but also a stability play. Alpine’s biggest on-track anchor for that is Pierre Gasly, who’s now locked in through the end of 2028. The Frenchman’s extension cuts through the noise and gives the factory a driver to build around as the regulations flip in 2026.
“That’s also a very positive sign,” Provost said of Gasly’s deal. “We are entering a new era, which will be a performance era but above all a stability era. Pierre’s commitment demonstrates this well. Steve’s appointment as managing director is a good example, too. So, you see, we’ve made many steps forward.”
Briatore, rarely shy with his views, has been similarly bullish about what Gasly brings to the table and what continuity does for a team that’s had more resets than it would like in recent years. “Since I joined, I can see he’s an immense asset to the team,” he said, praising Gasly’s attitude, dedication and talent. “We’re working incredibly hard to be in the best position for 2026, and with Pierre committing long-term it puts us in an even better place.”
There are still decisions to come. The seat alongside Gasly remains one to watch, with Franco Colapinto’s future beyond the end of the season not yet secured. But the headline is clear: Alpine is not for sale, the plan is to lean into the 2026 reboot with Mercedes power, and the leadership wants the paddock to know they mean it.
It’s a pragmatic path that suits the times. The 2026 regulations will transform car and power unit architecture and could scramble the competitive order. For a constructor that’s long been searching for consistent direction, jettisoning a costly PU programme and doubling down on the rest of the package is a bet on focus — and, crucially, on execution.
The challenge now is to turn the corporate clarity into lap time. Alpine’s recent seasons have been a grind, sprinkled with flashes of promise but too often undermined by reliability, pit wall miscues and development missteps. Stability helps only if it’s paired with sharper processes and a car that responds to the wind tunnel the way the numbers say it should.
Still, the Monza message was unmistakable. No hedging. No coy “evaluating options.” Renault is keeping Alpine on the grid, aligning the leadership, and banking on a driver it trusts to carry the project through the sport’s next big reset. In a paddock that reads every silence as a sale sign, that clarity is half the battle. The other half starts now.
