French-produced Formula 1 engines are officially no more, after the "axe" finally fell.
This was the strong reaction from L'Equipe, France's leading sports daily, after Renault Group confirmed that Viry-Chatillon will no longer design or manufacture power units for F1 after 2025.
"Formula 1 activities at Viry, excluding the development of a new engine, will continue until the end of the 2025 season," announced Alpine's parent company.
The move aims to slash costs and provide the Enstone-based Formula 1 team with an immediate performance boost in 2026 by almost certainly using customer Mercedes engines.
Reports suggest that Alpine is not only purchasing Mercedes' power unit but also acquiring the gearbox and rear suspension, similar to what Aston Martin has done.
Despite assurances that all Viry employees will be reassigned within the revamped 'Hypertech Alpine' facility, the workforce is far from pleased.
Ferrari's team boss, Frederic Vasseur, revealed to L'Equipe that his "mailbox is overflowing with CVs from France."
"The axe has fallen," was the dramatic remark by L'Equipe journalist Erik Bielderman.
Denis Chevier, former head of Renault's F1 engine division, told the newspaper: "Alpine wants to make F1 cheap. That's what they've always wanted to do."
"That's why they didn't succeed in the transition to hybrid engines, unlike their competitors. It's the unfortunate demonstration that if you don't want to put in the resources, then after a while you can't live on the past and the ship loses its speed, little by little."
"No doubt this engine is not the best on the grid," he added, "but the decision that was taken is the opposite of that which a boss who aims for excellence with his company should take."
Another former senior Renault F1 figure, Bruno Mauduit, said, "It has disintegrated over time. When I went there two years ago, I told them as I left 'you broke the toy.'"
"Today, we have no argument to continue. What has been done in recent years is not enough, and everyone is at fault. I wasn't very happy one or two years ago, but now it's agony. We have to stop the bleeding."
Current Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is set to move to Haas for 2025, while his teammate Pierre Gasly, who is staying, is equally dismayed by the team's struggles.
"Basically, the problem is that we're just too slow," Gasly said after the Singapore Grand Prix. "It means you end up trying things that are ... well. In the end, I was losing four seconds per lap."
"I don't really have the words because these are things that we have to see about internally, but the basic problem is that we're just way too slow," he added.
