Pierre Gasly has swiftly responded to intensifying rumors that Renault might abandon its power unit development for 2026.

Team leader Bruno Famin immediately labeled the reports as "rumours," yet new executive advisor Flavio Briatore hinted that every strategy was under review to propel the team to Formula 1's summit.

Even Gasly, now freshly extended with Alpine for at least another two years, recently emphasized the necessity to assess all possibilities for enhancing performance. "The team is open about this, I trust the management's decision and have no concerns about it," Gasly explained.

"Yes, we would lose our status as a factory team, but the regulations are drawn up in such a way that there is clear parity between the parties, especially in terms of engines."

However, now in Austria for this weekend's grand prix, and following a week full of speculation that Renault might offload Alpine's chassis operations at Enstone in preparation for a possible sale of the team, Gasly downplayed the rumors.

When questioned about the possibility of Alpine acquiring a customer engine from 2026, he clarified, "I don't understand where these rumours came from.

"I regularly - every week - talk to (Renault CEO) Luca de Meo, and it was immediately obvious to me that these were just rumours. He has always been and remains 100 percent committed to the Alpine project," said the 28-year-old.

Gasly further detailed his involvement and outlook regarding the future plans, revealing, "I looked very closely at the plans for 2026, because it was important for my next contract for when the new regulations come into force. And for me it was never a question because I know how committed Renault and Alpine are to the project and how much they invest in the team.

"I believe in the guys at Enstone and in Viry," he insisted. body check tags ::