"Formula 1 is part of our core strategy for Alpine," insists Renault's new CEO, Francois Provost.

Propping up the constructors' standings and showing no sign of moving forward any time soon, over the last few seasons the team has been rocked by crisis after crisis.

Losing the likes of Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri, not to mention high-level members of staff, even the recruitment of Hitech founder Oliver Oakes turned sour.

The one bright light, other than the grim determination of Pierre Gasly, is that next season Alpine switches to Mercedes power units, though this comes at the cost of the Renault name effectively disappearing from the sport.

However, despite continuing claims that Alpine all but has a 'for sale' sign above its door, newly appointed Renault CEO, Francoise Provost insists that the French team will continue.

"Formula 1 is part of our core strategy for Alpine, and this I do not intend to change," said Provost in a statement. "The unique priority for the Formula 1 team is performance, improved performance this year and, of course, moreover, to succeed in 2026 with the new car.

"This is a unique priority given to Formula 1," he added.

Of course, any success will be put down to the switch to Mercedes power units, a ludicrous situation given that the German manufacturer is a direct rival.

Speaking at the weekend, Gasly welcomed Provost's appointment.

"He's been a very long time working in Renault," said the Frenchman. "He knows the DNA of the group, of the team. He's been part of it for all these years when Renault has been part of Formula 1. He's fully committed to the sport, to the Formula 1 team.

"Obviously he wants to see performance," he added, "and he's backing everybody in the team. Looking forward to the future with the team.

"We know where we're heading," he insisted, fully aware of the team's current situation. "We know '25 is a compromise we decided to take at the start of the year to focus on '26. Hopefully, it's going to pay dividends next year."

Let's not forget that Renault was the driving force behind the last major overhaul of the regulations in 2014, and made a complete hash of it.