Three weeks ago, the management of the Renault concern officially announced that it was stopping the development of a new generation power plant, and from 2026 third-party engines will be installed on Alpine cars. Which ones have not yet been named, but most likely they will be Mercedes engines.
Renault engine builders have been making engines for Formula 1 since 1977, achieving considerable success, although lately their powerplants have been inferior to competitors’ products.
Luca de Meo, head of the Renault group, assures that such an unpopular decision was taken mainly for economic reasons, because the power units, produced by the engines division in Viry-Châtillon, are used only by the Alpine factory team. No one buys them anymore, so Renault bears the entire cost burden.
At the same time, according to the estimates of Forbes experts last year, the market value of the assets of the factory team of the French group reaches $ 2 billion, and the popularity of Formula 1 is steadily growing. Therefore, it can be predicted that the shares of the champion teams will also become increasingly expensive. That is why, according to De Meo, we are not talking about the sale of family diamonds at all.
“The team adds financial value to the entire group,” he said in an interview with L’Equipe. – When I got reports about our program in Formula 1, I saw that it was worth $1 billion. Not bad, don’t you agree? And this has a positive effect on the value of Renault shares. Therefore, the issue of selling family diamonds is not even raised.
Every two weeks I receive a call from all kinds of businessmen with eccentric personalities who want to enter Formula 1. They understand that the team will be worth much more after 2026.
If they offer you a billion dollars for a team today, they can sell it for double the price in a few years. This is a frankly speculative approach, and I have rejected such people fifty times.
Each Formula 1 team will soon be valued between 3 and 5 billion dollars. I’m not going to sell anything, I’m not stupid. Formula 1 is a closed club and being a member is of fundamental importance for Alpine. This increases brand value in the eyes of car enthusiasts. But we don’t need this money.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
