Alpine mindful of Audi/Porsche not 'disrupting our business model'

Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi would welcome Audi and Porsche arrival in F1 but warns that any concessions awarded to the VW Group's manufacturers must not "disrupt" the business model of the sport's incumbents.

Audi and Porsche are expected to commit to Formula 1 in the near future, as soon as the sport's stakeholders rubber-stamp Grand Prix racing's 2026 engine regulations.

Preliminary plans regarding the two manufacturers involve an engine supply deal between Red Bull and Porsche while Audi is expected to either acquire an existing team or to strike a collaboration agreement with an outfit.

Both manufacturers are expected to work independently from one another, although a flow of information for one to the other could help both brands extract more from F1's budget cap.

Furthermore, if according to the terms of their partnership Red Bull Powertrains passes on to Porsche intellectual property initially sourced from Honda, it could call into question the Stuttgart firm's status as a "new entrant".

Rossi believes Porsche and Audi's involvement would benefit F1 as a whole, as long as the current manufacturers don't end up with the short end of the stick.

"I think it’s nice, I think is good for the sport, but we need to really pay attention to a couple of things, actually," Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi told Motorsport.com.

"We need to check and make sure that two separate teams are two separate teams.

"We need to make sure that if they’re entering the arena as teams, are they works teams, is it coming from Porsche, from Audi, is it coming from Red Bull or Honda? Do they have specific treatment or not?

"So basically, is the sport going to be better off, or is it going to be worse off?"

• Read also: Binotto 'happy' to see Porsche and Audi heading to F1

Rossi underscored the massive investment undertaken by Renault over the years, the value of which would be lowered if too many concession are given to new entrants.

"Suddenly to favour new entrants, then incumbents suddenly get a bit of the wrong end of the stick," Rossi added.

"And I guess it’s the same concern for most teams here, but especially for us as a works team, because we’ve invested literally billions over the past 20 years, 40 years, for Renault in PUs.

"It’s not for someone to come in and just like get the lion’s share just because they roll out the red carpet. Because it’s basically disrupting our business model, and putting a lot of jobs at risk."

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