Briatore downplays Alpine F1 stake interest from “passenger” Mercedes
Flavio Briatore has commented on Mercedes' Alpine investment reports for the first time
Flavio Briatore has downplayed an interest from the Mercedes Formula 1 team in buying a stake in power unit customer Alpine.
The Italian says that other potential buyers are also in the frame, and that the successful bidder for the minority shareholding would be “a passenger”.
The 24% stake owned by US-based hedge fund Otro Capital is potentially up for grabs, with a group led by ex-Red Bull team principal Christian Horner among those who are known to be in discussions, while Mercedes has now also entered the frame.
The team is owned jointly by Mercedes-Benz (33%), Jim Ratcliffe of Ineos (33%), Toto Wolff (28%) and George Kurtz of Crowdstrike (5%, via Wolff’s involvement).
A successful purchase would not only be a straightforward commercial investment but would also help to secure Alpine as a long-term future partner, and make it harder for any other manufacturer to align itself with the Enstone team.
Because the stake is owned by Otro and not Alpine, Briatore is in essence an observer to what’s going on.
“Every day is a new situation,” he said at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday. “I don’t know what is the latest one. But what I say is that I know it’s a negotiation with Mercedes, not with Toto, with Mercedes, but we will see.
“In this moment, there are three or four potential buyers. Not forget, we are talking about the Otro share, nothing to do with Alpine.
“It is the share owned by the hedge fund, an American hedge fund. They want to sell their 24%, and a few candidates are ready to do the deal.”
Briatore, who in his Benetton days at times also had parallel involvements with both Ligier and Minardi, sees nothing unusual in Mercedes owning a stake in another team.
He also stressed that the size of the stake would limit any influence the successful bidder might have.
“Red Bull has already pioneered this in the last 15 years,” he said. “I can tell you, Mercedes are one group looking to buy Otro’s 24%.
“Normally, a company who owns the 75% decides and the 25% is a passenger. This is what is the reality.”
Asked if he was interested in a personal stake he said: “No. I’m just looking at what is going on and am just watching what is going on. Sure, for us, we have no communication with Toto in this moment.”
Adam Cooper attended his first F1 race at Brands Hatch as a 10-year-old fan in 1976. He became a freelance journalist for Autosport magazine in 1985 while still at university, initially covering everything from club racing to the FIA World Sportscar Championship.
