Alpine confirms plan to withdraw from WEC at end of 2026

Alpine has announced that it will withdraw from the World Endurance Championship at the end of the 2026 season.

The move comes following a review of its “priorities”, which includes the continued transformation of Renault’s historic F1 engine facility in Viry-Chatillon.

Alpine to withdraw from WEC at end of 2026 season

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Alpine has had a presence in the WEC since it entered the hypercar category at the start of 2024.

However, the Renault-owned brand has had limited success in the elite category of endurance racing with the A424 car limited to just a single win, achieved in Fuji last year.

The 2026 WEC season will begin in Qatar next month with the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours scheduled to take place on the weekend of June 13/14, the weekend F1’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix is held.

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Ahead of the new season, Alpine has confirmed that it will withdraw from the WEC at the end of 2026, with the transformation of the F1 engine project at Viry-Chatillon – renamed Alpine Tech – ongoing.

The Alpine F1 team announced its decision to drop its Renault power unit in 2024, with the Enstone-based outfit switching to a Mercedes customer supply from F1 2026.

An Alpine statement read: “Alpine Cars, the French sports speciality brand, is revising its development plan to support its growth strategy.

“Optimisation and prioritisation of projects is needed to ensure a sustainable future for the brand, and respond to the demands of customers, prospects and fans.

“Since 2024, Alpine has expanded its product portfolio from one model to three. Alpine also announced recently triple-digit growth.

“Despite those positive results, the current challenges of the automotive industry have impacted the brand’s initial plans.

“As a result, it has taken the decision to review its priorities and set actions in place for a sustainable future, including ending its engagement in the FIA World Endurance Championship beyond 2026, and focusing on the FIA Formula One World Championship.

“The Viry-Chatillon site – now called Alpine Tech – will continue to pursue its transformation, focusing on innovation for Renault Group and the Alpine brand.

“The transformation is based on the workforce’s unique skills and existing high-end, high-tech equipment, and since January the company has sought partnerships with external businesses who can benefit from these.

“As ever, the priority of the group and the brand remains the employees, and the brand will seek to retain talent and expertise, guiding employees with their development and career options.

“An employment protection plan will support employees throughout the process, with options including another role within the group, benefitting from a dedicated training scheme, departing voluntarily or taking early retirement.”

Philippe Krief, the Alpine chief executive, said: “We have had to take hard decisions to protect the long-term ambitions of Alpine.

“On one side, the automotive industry – and particularly the EV market – are growing slower than expected.

“On the other side, to succeed for the long-term we must continue our ongoing investment into the Alpine product portfolio and Alpine brand.

“The result is we must take decisive actions to create a brand with a sustainable future.

“As one team, everyone at Alpine must focus all our efforts on these challenges.

“In regard to motorsport, while we regret not being able to continue in the WEC after this season, focusing on Formula 1 offers us a unique platform from which we can grow brand awareness in line with our ambitions for product and market growth.

“A winning spirit is part of the DNA of Alpine, across all parts of the business.

“Therefore, I am confident we will continue to fight until the very last second of the very last race that we are engaged in through 2026.”

Axel Plasse, the vice president of Alpine Tech, added: “We have been working hard in defining the new structure and organisation of Alpine Tech.

“We have incredible talents at the Viry-Chatillon site, and we have worked carefully to ensure that the new set-up will allow us to fully focus on the innovative, cutting-edge expertise of our workforce and offer services for new projects and businesses.

“A busy year has already started with this new focus in mind, alongside running this final WEC season.”

Alpine’s decision to withdraw from the WEC comes after Honda distanced itself from rumours that it was planning to enter the hypercar class with the Acura ARX-06 car as soon as 2027.

In a statement provided to PlanetF1.com, Chuck Schifsky, the manager of Honda & Acura Motorsports, confirmed that there are no plans to enter the WEC.

However, Schifsky left the door open to customer teams running the Acura ARX-06 – which has won the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Petit Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring since 2023 – in the WEC and IMSA in the future.

He said: “Honda, Acura nor Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) have any plans to enter the FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC).

“We would certainly welcome customers running the ARX-06 in either IMSA GTP or WEC Hypercar, but there are no imminent plans for this to happen.”

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