The team announced last year that it would abandon its long-standing Renault engines and become a Mercedes customer from the next major rules overhaul. The move ends decades of engine development at Renault’s Viry-Châtillon facility, which has supplied F1 power units since the 1970s.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Alpine sporting director Steve Nielsen explained the reasoning behind the switch and addressed expectations surrounding Mercedes’ 2026 engine project.

“First, the reasons why we left our own power unit: it’s a bit of a shame, because we’ve enjoyed many good years with our own supplier, but nothing is forever in Formula 1, so we move to a different supplier. And, of course, we are excited about it,” he said.

Mercedes is widely believed in the paddock to be ahead in the early stages of the 2026 power unit cycle, with that perception linked to its strong performance after the 2014 regulation change. However, Nielsen emphasised that the competitive order remains uncertain.

“Mercedes has a long history in F1. The last time there was a major regulation change, they did very well. That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to be exactly the same now,” he stated, while noting the differences between the two rule shifts, explaining that the move in 2014 from naturally aspirated engines to hybrid turbo units "was a huge change," while the 2026 update is "not such a big one, because we already have hybrid turbos."

Nielsen added that the enlarged battery introduces new challenges but made clear that Alpine has no assumptions about Mercedes' advantage. "If they have done a better job than the others, I don’t know," he said, reiterating that the true hierarchy will not be known until the 2026 cars run on track.

"All you can do is work as hard as you can, produce the best possible car, with maximum power, maximum downforce, reliability, and a good strategy, and hope it’s better than the others, but in reality you don’t know until you see them,” he concluded.

Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff cautions against expecting a repeat of Mercedes’ dominant 2024 Las Vegas GP, where George Russell won from pole and Lewis Hamilton climbed from P10 to P2, arguing that the team can’t simply keep the same car and must analytically tailor the setup to Las Vegas, approaching the weekend open‑minded. Read Wolff's full statements here.

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