Harry Sandover
8 Aug 2023
Why is Alpine and Renault struggling to keep up with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes?
Renault have had their problems in Formula One since the turbo-hybrid powertrains were introduced. They went from producing high quality, technologically advanced, and championship winning motors for themselves and RedBull in the early 2000s-2010s, to being almost disappointing in the modern era of motorsport.
Renault have a big history of success in Formula One, assisting in winning 12 Constructor’s titles, 11 Driver’s titles, and over 160 wins. After the FIA made a push for sustainability, and introduced the Turbo-Hybrid V6 engines, Renault have not been able to keep up with the likes of their nearest rivals of Mercedes and Ferrari in engine development.
To start, Alpine’s luck with the Turbo-Hybrid powertrain hasn’t been all doom-and-gloom. When named Renault and running the iconic black and yellow livery, they pinched a couple of podiums, Daniel Ricciardo spraying the bottle of champaign twice in 2020. When the team received the new name of Alpine in 2021, they received another 2 miraculous podiums, Esteban Ocon converting the drama at Hungary into his first Grand Prix win. It appears however, Alpine fell to the same fate as McLaren, focusing very little on their car for the new change in regulations, inevitably putting them on the back foot for the 2022 season.
Throughout 2022, Fernando Alonso suffered 5 retirements. All being reliability and powertrain-related issues, barring the race at Imola when he crashed on the opening lap. Combined, Alpine suffered roughly 9 total retirements that season, meaning they kept their car running for 16 of the 25 total races (sprint races included).
After the Hungarian Grand Prix this season, where both drivers retired with engine problems, Alpine and Renault are making a push for all engines to perform equally. Suggestions have been made to move to just one engine manufacturer, but it is unlikely that this would happen, as Formula One would lose a large portion of its brand diversity, as well as many sponsors and partnered companies.
Renault is a strong brand with a successful production car line-up. Let’s hope that they can convert their many years of knowledge of Formula One to designing and creating a competitive car and powertrain.
Sources and references –
- “Alonso Slams Alpine’s Unreliability after Mexico Failure.” RacingNews365, 31 Oct. 2022, racingnews365.com/alonso-slams-alpines-unreliability-after-mexico-failure#:~:text=Of%20Alonso%27s%20five%20retirements%20in. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
- “Daniel RICCIARDO - Podiums • STATS F1.” Www.statsf1.com, www.statsf1.com/en/daniel-ricciardo/podium.aspx. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
- Formula 1. “Formula 1.” Formula 1® - the Official F1® Website, 15 Mar. 2019, www.formula1.com/en.html. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.
- “Alpine Unveils 2023 F1 Challenger in London with Gasly, Ocon.” Au.motorsport.com, 16 Feb. 2023, au.motorsport.com/f1/news/alpine-unveils-2023-f1-challenger-in-london-gasly-ocon/10433123/. Accessed 8 Aug. 2023.