Alpine to use Mercedes engines in Formula 1 from 2026

In June this year, former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore was appointed executive adviser by Renault chief executive officer Luca de Meo, with a remit to restructure the team.

Briatore has since appointed Briton Oliver Oakes as team principal and told Sky Sports Italia recently that the workforce at the UK base in Enstone, Oxfordshire, had shrunk by 300 people, from 1,150 to 850.

This was in contrast to comments he made in a news conference at the Dutch Grand Prix, when he said he “didn’t want to cut jobs”, while also saying the team “didn’t need so many people”.

An Alpine spokesperson said: “The organisation of the F1 team at Enstone has been under review in order to optimise the resources and put the team in a position to work efficiently and strategically, to quickly recover performance and compete again at the sharp end of the grid.

“As part of that review process, there are areas of the Enstone team that are going under a restructure, with the sole aim of putting the right organisation in place for the team’s future success.”

Alpine started the season as the slowest on the grid but has made significant progress in recent months.

A critical strategic decision during the wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix on 3 November led to Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing second and third, behind winner Max Verstappen.

That result vaulted the team from ninth in the constructors’ championship to sixth in one go, a potential gain of about $30m (£23.4m) in prize money if they can retain the place to the end of the season.