Andretti has announced for several seasons its intention to enter Formula 1. And the engine partner has already been found: Renault. Except that since then, things have been slipping and the other teams don’t necessarily want an 11th team. This would require dividing the financial pie into a little more slice. And even if the FIA shows interest in the project and would perhaps even want others, we must face the facts, F1 with more than 10 teams has been over since 2015 (and even well before if we go back to the plateaus with 13 stables or more).
One solution that could suit everyone would be for Renault/Alpine to sell the team to Andretti. This would correspond to Enstone in England for the installations, while Viry-Châtillon (former stronghold of Gordini then Renault Sport) would be retained for the engine part.
Is this solution being considered by the boss of the Renault group? Especially after the Berezina of certain races this season? Alpine is no longer progressing, and has even regressed in the world hierarchy since McLaren’s return to form. This would allow Alpine to remain in F1 via the supply of the engine, and for Andretti to enter F1 without facing a categorical refusal from the other teams. It wouldn’t be the first time Renault has done this as Enstone has already changed hands several times, with Renault buying the factory from Gérard Lopez after the Lotus F1 failure.
Credibility?
How much credit can be given to all this? Rumors regularly travel the paddock, and in F1 as elsewhere, there is no smoke without fire. However, Luca de Meo is firm: “We are not where we should be. We have to do a reset, piece by piece. And all these stories that I would like to sell the team are just rubbish. F1 is part of the Alpine project, at the same time title than endurance”.
It is true that such a sale would mean a personal failure for de Meo who sees in Alpine the potential to become a major sports car brand, relying on endurance with Signatech and Oreca, but also F1. The supply of the engine to Andretti will be a plus. Except that we can’t help but think that this is “the last chance” for Alpine. De Meo fired Laurent Rossi and entrusted Bruno Famin with the operational part of motorsport.
F1 changes its regulations in 2026. What will happen if at the start of 2025 no improvement arrives for the team? F1 certainly costs less since the budgets were capped and above all costs less than a year of advertising around the world. But, we will also have to sell Alpines to justify the expenses. And without return (victories, title, etc.) it will be difficult to do. However, we do not believe these sales rumors, and we even suspect F1 itself of orchestrating them.
The goal would be to show Andretti that we have “tried everything” to get them to come to F1, but that there is no place. Domenicali promised a response in September for Andretti. Here we are ! The rumors were fueled by Helmut Marko who has the solution to the Andretti problem. Hey “Uncle Helmut”, what if Red Bull sold AlphaTauri and the Faenza factory to Andretti? That would suit everyone, right?
