Alpine's F1 engine partner Mecachrome gets Audi deal
Renault's long-time engine partner Mecachrome will remain involved in F1 - as it starts a new collaboration with the incoming Audi works team in 2026 as Alpine switches to Mercedes customer engines
Renault's long-time Formula 1 engine partner Mecachrome will remain involved in F1 in a new collaboration with the incoming Audi works team in 2026 after Alpine switches to Mercedes customer engines.
The Mecachrome/Audi tie-up - which might not be Mecachrome's only new F1 deal - comes after another change to Alpine's motorsport engine arrangements with the decision to take its World Endurance Championship engine programme away from Mecachrome and move it fully in-house to the Viry-Châtillon Alpine motorsport base once the end of the F1 programme creates capacity.
Mecachrome is best known among F1 fans for Williams and Benetton running engines bearing its name in the 1998 season, when Renault withdrew factory support but a deal was struck for Mecachrome to continue maintaining and supplying the engines to the former Renault teams.
The firm has been involved in Renault's motorsport engine programmes for over 40 years. It currently manufactures some of the parts, assembles and tests Alpine's F1 engine blocks.
It has quickly bounced back from the double blow of Alpine stopping its F1 engine programme and bringing the WEC engine work in-house by signing a new agreement with Audi.
What is Mecachrome?
If you are a fan of single-seaters, you are bound to be familiar with this French company, whose motorsport division is based in Aubigny-sur-Nère, in the Cher department, 170km (105 miles) south of Paris.
Created in 1937, Mecachrome, with its recognised DNA in automotive sport and F1, has become a world leader in high-precision mechanics. Specialising in the machining of mechanical parts and high-precision assemblies, its traditional area of expertise, the group has the capacity for sheet metal working and boiler making, and assembly of larger assemblies (batches).
Mecachrome is present in the aeronautical (aerostructure, aeroengine), automotive (premium and motorsport), defence, naval, energy and space (DNES) industries.
Its industrial potential and cutting-edge technologies, such as nanomechanics and HVOF thermal spraying, have enabled the group to forge an international reputation with its customers, which include Airbus, Bombardier, The CEA, Dassault, Embraer, Ferrari, Renault Alpine, Safran, Airbus Atlantique, Spirit, Thales, Porsche and Rolls Royce. The company employs more than 5000 people and has a global turnover of around €600million.
Today, Mecachrome has 22 different sites, with branches in Morocco, Tunisia, Portugal and Canada. However, its motorsport activities are mainly based at Aubigny-sur-Nère.
In motorsport, Mecachrome is involved in F1, F2 and F3 (with engines designed entirely in-house), the WEC and MotoGP. The automotive premium & motorsport department accounts for more than 18% of the company's total turnover.
Over around 40 years, Mecachrome's teams have manufactured more than 7500 engines. In endurance racing, in addition to being behind the V6 turbo engine for the Alpine A424 hypercar, Mecachrome was also the engine manufacturer for Ginetta in 2019, albeit without much success.
A double break with Renault
Mecachrome collaborated with Renault for over 40 years and contributed to 12 world championship titles in F1, though its own name only appeared on an entry list in 1998 - with even that ex-works Renault engine supply deal being rebranded for 1999 when Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel's Supertec company took on the distribution of the Mecachrome engines that were by then being used by BAR too.
Naturally, when it was announced last September that Renault was stopping production of its F1 engines, it was a hard blow for Mecachrome to take.
But it had to take another blow recently when it learned that Renault was bringing all its Endurance activities back in-house to its Viry-Châtillon centre, now called Hypertech Alpine.
"These are decisions that have deeply affected our staff who worked in this sector and who were committed to motorsport," said Mecachrome CEO Christian Cornille.
"This is the second piece of bad news we had to break to them a few days ago when we told them that we had not been able to keep this activity within Mecachrome, as Alpine had decided to take back the endurance business."
Alpine has confirmed to The Race that Viry will resume assembly and operation of the A424 WEC engines after the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours (14-15 June), once most of the F1 activities have been completed and there is availability at Viry.
It is a logical decision, as Alpine has never hidden its desire to maintain a competition activity in Viry-Châtillon even after its F1 team moves to Mercedes engines.
However, Alpine will continue to work with Mecachrome on its WEC programme, particularly for the supply of parts.
What you need to know about the Alpine A424 engine
When it came to finding an engine to power its A424 WEC car, Alpine set its sights on Mecachrome.
"The choice was made following a call for tenders," explained Alpine Motorsport vice president Bruno Famin in August 2023. "We consulted several engine manufacturers and finally opted for Mecachrome, which we know very well in Viry-Châtillon. We started with the Formula 2 engine, which is a single-turbo."
The engine was modified to adapt to the constraints of endurance racing, although everyone still remembers last year's double retirement from the Le Mans 24 Hours before nightfall.
After this setback, the crankshaft and valves were modified, which is said to have contributed to the good results achieved by the A424 at the end of last season, including third place in the Fuji 6 Hours. However, despite encouraging reliability in the last four races, Alpine has decided to use one of the five Evo Jokers available to manufacturers between 2021 and 2027 to modify its turbo.
Ten days ago, the #36 A424 driven by Mick Schumacher, Frédéric Makowiecki and Jules Gounon finished third in the Imola 6 Hours. But to be sure that the work done has paid off, we will really have to wait for Le Mans next month.
Designed and developed by Mecachrome, adapted by Alpine/Renault, the V6 turbo in this car will now be assembled in Viry-Châtillon, at the Hypertech Alpine facility where the F1 engines were designed.
The site transformation involved reallocating resources and competencies currently assigned to the F1 engine. Various activities are grouped together there: its in-development 'Future Alpine Supercar', R&D on cells and new battery chemistries, research into new electric motor technologies, WEC and Dakar Rally activities, F1 monitoring unit to master technical developments in this industry, and the development of engineering services for other companies.
Audi: The new F1 partner
But Mecachrome's expertise is well known in the industry, and it would have been surprising if other manufacturers had not taken advantage of the end of this idyll with Alpine/Renault to secure its services.
"In the past, we couldn't work with other teams because we were bound by an exclusive contract with Alpine," Cornille explained.
"As soon as we were released from our obligations, we contacted all the Formula 1 teams. And we managed to convince Audi Sport, which we will be supporting in the manufacture of a number of parts."
Time is pressing, and the collaboration has obviously already begun. However, there is no question of assembling the engines; that's a task entrusted to Audi Formula Racing GmbH in Neuburg, in a specially adapted centre equipped with 22 state-of-the-art test benches.
"For Alpine, we manufactured parts and assembled engines," Cornille added . "For Audi, we manufacture parts but do not assemble engines. Nevertheless, this allows us to minimise the social impact on our site in Aubigny."
But it also allows the company to remain involved in F1. This is excellent news for Mecachrome, especially as Cornille says he is in "advanced discussions" with another currently unnamed F1 team, but for a different mission.
