Overview
- Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore said in Shanghai that Mercedes is discussing a buy-in to the team’s minority holding up for sale.
- He clarified the discussions are with Mercedes as a company rather than Toto Wolff personally, with three or four bidders still in play, including Christian Horner.
- The 24% stake belongs to Otro Capital, which paid $233 million in 2023, and Alpine is now widely reported to be valued around $3 billion.
- Alpine has moved to Mercedes power units for 2026, and Briatore and other paddock figures downplayed conflict-of-interest worries, calling a 24% investor a limited-influence ‘passenger’.
- Reporting indicates a pre-September sale may require Renault approval and that decision-timing provisions mean negotiations continue without a final agreement.