Alpine has responded to the protest that Renault employees will undertake at Viry and also at Monza amid the decision to end its F1 power unit programme.
Following the decision to end its power unit programme from 2026 F1 season, the Renault employees at Viry-Chatillon are to stage protests not only at its factory, but also at Monza on Friday of the Italian GP, demanding reversal of the decision.
Employees at Monza will do this –
- 2 groups will be divided into stands N4 and N24
- Each group will display a banner with a clear and non-aggressive message, pleading the cause of maintaining a French engine in F1
- Everyone will be wearing a white t-shirt with Alpine logo, message #ViryOnTrack and black armband
- In the Alpine garage, employees operating on the track will, if possible, wear a distinctive sign to associate themselves with this movement (black armband)
Employees at Viry-Chatillon will go on a strike –
- Signs of discontent will be clearly displayed in a respectful but determined climate
- Local elected officials will come to show their support for this mobilization. The city of Viry-Chatillon has called on elected officials and the population to be present on site at 12:15 p.m. (meet in front of Basic Fit)
- This mobilization will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Viry-Chatillon site: 1 to 15 avenue du President Kennedy
Alpine response –
“We are aware of some activities planned this weekend from staff of Viry. We understand from their communication these will be peaceful protests and will not impact team operations. The transformation project is still being evaluated and no decision has been taken yet by Alpine’s management. The dialogue, which opened since the project was presented to the Viry employee representatives in July, is important to Alpine’s management and will be pursued in the upcoming weeks.”
F1 drivers say –
Esteban Ocon: “It is, from what I heard, some peaceful protests. People want to talk, obviously, which is completely normal. And I hope that there will be some conversations between the parties.”
Pierre Gasly: “I have absolutely no power or control over that situation. It’s a team and top management topic. So from this point of view, I’m focusing on my race, and the best thing I can do to every employee of the team is perform the best way I can on the track. To give them the rewards of all the hard work that every single employee is doing. That’s my role in the team and that’s what I’ll focus on. I understand all parties. It’s not as easy as, you know, we can talk about it. So nothing of my control and as I say, it’s at the end of the day, hopefully everyone will come out of it with a good option.”
Here’s Pierre Gasly on points in Dutch GP
Here’s F1 rivals on Renault exit
Here’s Pierre Gasly on Alpine being transparent
Here’s Bruno Famin on his exit, PU situation
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[Note: The story is as per press release]