Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes sought to clear up any “confusion” around job losses at the team’s Viry-Chatillon base, with a switch to Mercedes power confirmed.

Alpine will be running with Mercedes power units from 2026 to 2030 after abandoning its own Formula 1 engine project for the sport’s regulation changes, with those to have worked on the Renault power units said to have been redeployed to other projects within the company.

Alpine boss clears up ‘confusion’ around job loss claims after Mercedes power switch

Former ‘Team Enstone’ boss Flavio Briatore returned to the constructor this year as executive advisor, and revealed in an interview with Italian media that some ‘spring cleaning’ had taken place – with the team now operating with a headcount of around 850 people, down from around 1,150 beforehand.

Oakes confirmed the team has “reduced” in “underperforming” areas, but denied there have been redundancies made, with the team set to make the switch from works to customer team in 2026.

With that said, he explained the team’s position of simply wanting the best possible power unit to guide them forwards.

“I’d say there’s a little bit of confusion there, I guess, is the fair word to use, because some of the messaging has sort of been twisted out of context,” Oakes said of reported job losses at Renault after the closure of its 2026 F1 engine project.

“For example, we didn’t really make anyone redundant, we reduced a couple of areas where you could say it was underperforming.

“You could say we needed a personnel change in those areas, but actually, the general team itself, the people, the sort of approach they take is they’re all racers.

“Enstone has something special about it, and those who are here, they care massively.

“That was probably one of the first things I realised when I took the job and I was coming in during the shutdown and seeing those who are allowed to work on the sort of infrastructure side, how committed they were.

“And of course, some of those decisions that have been taken this year aren’t easy. The Viry topic is one that’s very personal to the team and a lot of people, because that is a really great history of being a works team. But also, times change.

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“You see that in all sorts of sports teams, in different areas, that you can’t rest on your laurels, and I think we have to be honest, which I think the analysis was done before I started and [at] board level to the decision to become a customer team was in the right interests of the team.

“I know it was a difficult decision. I know there’s a lot of emotion there, because we are proud to be a works team, and we still have a year all together next year. But I do feel that was also a big statement of intent, really, of where we want to go.

“We’re not here just to be making up the numbers, we want to be pushing forward, and I think I was pretty open – maybe too honest – when I said, being selfish, I just want the best engine in the back of the car.

“At the end of the day, for me, we’re here to go racing. I want to be at the front of the grid, I don’t want to be walking to the back and, cruelly, the choice we made was to get the best engine in the back of the car and help the team keep climbing back up the grid.”

When asked about the potential of the Mercedes power unit, Oakes admitted that the switch in engine cannot be a full guarantee of success, but the team has opted to use precedent in how well they have adapted to regulation changes in years gone by.

“I think you can’t be dead sure, because nothing in life is a dead cert, but I think you have to be pragmatic there,” he said.

“I don’t know the full ins and outs of the decision, because it was slightly before I started, but if I was to pick at it, I’d probably turn around and say, ‘well, history does show that every time there’s been a regulation change, they’ve been strong.’

“I think you could see at the moment the Mercedes powertrain in particular is in the back of a customer that is fighting for the World Championship [McLaren], so I think there’s a few boxes there that you go, if I want to take a pragmatic choice, they stack up quite strongly to going that is the right choice.”

While there was vocal opposition from within the workforce at Viry-Chatillon against closing the F1 2026 power unit project, the team opted to go ahead with the switch to customer power – and it was revealed that the move was several months in the planning.

“I’m sort of talking second hand, because most of it was before I started,” Oakes explained.

“I sort of took the job end of July, and I think it was first under discussion a month or two before.

“And I think Flavio said in the press, ‘we’re talking and we’re investigating.’ And I think they did have some other discussions. I’m not sure exactly who with, but I think very early, it was quite clear that, at the moment, from a customer powertrain point of view, Mercedes was the obvious choice – simply as well, because Aston were moving to the Honda already, so there was almost a free spot there.”

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