Alpine set for 'reality check' with new F1 rules in 2026

Alpine’s executive technical director David Sanchez has admitted the team will have no excuses going into Formula 1’s new era in 2026.

Since the Renault Group bought the Enstone-based outfit back in late 2015, it has consistently set long-term goals of regular podiums and wins, but the past nine seasons yielded just nine top-three finishes, including Esteban Ocon’s memorable victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Alpine’s performance ramped up over the 2024 campaign; after a point-less first quintet of grands prix, the team scored 14 points over the next 15 rounds, then 51 in the last four (largely helped by its shock double podium finish in Brazil).

The 2026 season will mark the start of a new era for the team, not only due to the new technical regulations coming into force in the world championship but also because Alpine is ending its long-standing F1 engine programme, switching to a Mercedes customer deal.

Sanchez acknowledged this engine arrangement meant Alpine had no reason not to perform, with McLaren having won the 2024 constructors’ title as a Mercedes client.

“Now, whether you're a customer or works team, the engines have to perform the same,” the Frenchman told Autosport in an end-of-season interview at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “So it's not anymore a matter of [if] the works team can get more out of the engine.

“Then, in terms of packaging and integration, all the engines [are] now very well packaged. And the way the aero regulations are, there are a few legality boxes which are deliberately big enough such that they won't favour one PU manufacturer more than another one.

“So I think now, in terms of what engine you have in the car, you can be a customer team and be very good.”

David Sanchez, Alpine Executive Technical Director

Photo by: Alpine

Asked if 2026 would be a reality check for Alpine, Sanchez simply answered: “Yes.”

He added: “When I look at how we are preparing ourselves for '26, I don't see any fundamental weakness which we would take into '26 and which would hold us back. So I think, '26, we can intend to do a good job.”

Development for next year’s car has been allowed since 1 January, and teams are now facing a balancing act in terms of resource allocation, in the context of the budget cap and aerodynamic testing restrictions.

Sanchez said Alpine had already decided “when and how” to handle the full transition from the 2025 project to the following one.

“You’re never 100% sure it won’t change depending on results,” he admitted. “We hope that we are going to be able to stick to the strategy, so that we don't have any surprise.”

As far as the 2025 pecking order is concerned, Sanchez reckoned any changes would depend on the extent to which teams prioritise their 2026 challengers, adding he “can think of one” that has been pushing for 2025.