Mercedes Withdraw From Alpine Stake Purchase, Boosting Christian Horner’s Return Hopes

Christian Horner’s prospects of returning to Formula 1 have received a significant boost after Mercedes pulled out of a deal to buy a stake in Alpine.
Otro Capital, who hold a 24 per cent stake in the Enstone-based team, have been seeking a buyer, with both Horner and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff previously linked to the purchase.
Alpine’s Flavio Briatore had recently confirmed that talks with Mercedes were ongoing, though he clarified it was the F1 team as a whole showing interest, rather than Wolff personally.
Alpine and Mercedes also recently entered into a power unit partnership, with Mercedes supplying Alpine, helping the team become considerably more competitive over recent seasons.
According to BBC Sport, the Mercedes deal to acquire Otro’s 24 per cent shareholding has now collapsed, with the two parties failing to agree on a valuation.
Otro are reportedly seeking $720 million for their stake, a figure that would place Alpine’s total value at $3 billion.
Otro paid around $233 million for the stake as recently as 2023, while Mercedes are said to view Alpine as worth approximately $2.3 billion.
That gap leaves the two parties at least $150 million apart, making a deal appear increasingly unlikely to materialise.
The valuations involved highlight just how dramatically the worth of Formula 1 teams has grown as the sport’s global popularity continues to rise.
Ferrari topped the standings as F1’s most valuable team, according to Sportico, with a reported valuation of $6.4 billion, followed by Mercedes at $5.88 billion and 2025 constructors’ champions McLaren at $4.73 billion.
Alpine were valued at $2.08 billion in the same report, placing them seventh among all ten teams on the grid.
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