Flavio Briatore has confirmed that Mercedes is one of the parties competing for a minority stake in Alpine. At the same time, he downplays the impact on the French team should less than a quarter of the shares fall into the hands of, among others, Toto Wolff. Briatore emphasized that there are several potential buyers and that the final party will only have limited influence.
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It has been known for some time that the American investment group Otro Capital wants to sell its minority stake in Alpine. This concerns a 24 percent share package. Christian Horner is one of the parties looking to buy into Alpine, although the former Red Bull team principal recently faced competition from an old rival. Mercedes, which has been supplying engines to the Enstone-based team since this year, is also competing for the shares. Flavio Briatore confirmed this during an FIA press conference in China.
“Every day is a new situation,” he said Friday in Shanghai. “I don’t know what the latest developments are. But I do know that negotiations are ongoing with Mercedes, not with Toto (Wolff, ed.), but with Mercedes itself. We will see. At the moment, there are three or four potential buyers,” the Italian revealed. “Don’t forget that this concerns Otro’s share, so Alpine has nothing to do with it. It concerns the share of an American investment group. They want to sell their 24 percent and there are a number of candidates willing to close a deal.”
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Mercedes eyes a supporting role
Briatore downplayed the strategic value of the stake for Mercedes and stated that the interest will only have limited influence. “Red Bull has already played a pioneering role in this over the past fifteen years,” he said, referring to the relationship between Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls. “I can tell you that Mercedes is one of the interested parties. But in a normal situation, the company that owns 75 percent of the shares (parent company Renault, ed.) will continue to call the shots. The minority shareholders only play a supporting role. That is the reality.”
He pointed out that a stake in another team would not be unusual for Mercedes and that it does not automatically imply a takeover. Briatore also emphasized that he has no plans to step in himself and that his role remains limited to advising. “No,” he replied when asked if he was interested in a stake himself. “I’m just watching how the situation develops and keeping an eye on what happens. We have no contact with Toto at the moment.”
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