Renault Willing to Supply Andretti F1 Team With Engines if They’re Allowed In
Their previous deal for F1 engines expired but Renault is open to new contract talks.
It looks like the Andretti Cadillac F1 team might have one ally in the sport, after all. The process for Andretti to enter Formula 1 is taking far longer and proving to be way more political than previously anticipated, thanks to downright nasty attacks from several team owners and even some ghosting from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. It's been so long that the pre-contract Andretti had with Renault to build its engines expired before anyone could agree if they're being allowed into the club or not. However, a new report claims that despite the deal's expiration, Renault is still willing to work out another deal and supply engines for the new American team.
"We are talking to Andretti and to General Motors and we are happy to talk to them," interim team principal Bruno Famin told Motorsport.com. “If they have an entry, we are happy to resume the talks. For the time being it's a bit on standby, and not due to us, it's because the length of the process is much, much, much longer than expected."
Renault/Alpine obviously knows why that wait has gone on for so long, and it likely wants to make sure it can still capitalize from a new team possibly coming into the fold. A Renault-Andretti partnership would be short-lived, however, as GM already revealed that it won't just partner with Andretti but also wants to supply powertrains starting in the 2027 season. Even with a small partnership window, Renault is still willing to work with Andretti until GM starts supplying engines, it seems.
The FIA, the governing body behind F1, already approved the Andretti Cadillac team's application. However, the commercial-rights owner of the sport and the existing teams still need to give Michael and Mario Andretti the green light. Domenicali publicly stated the lack of need for a new F1 team entry and both Mercedes and Ferrari team owners have expressed their doubts that an Andretti team would bring value to the sport. Alpine, whether it's because they're bound to profit from the deal or because they're just really nice people, seem to be pro-Andretti.
“If they have an entry it's because they will have demonstrated that they will bring a lot of added value to F1 and that the value of the championship and the teams will not be diluted due to that," added Famin.
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