Formula 1 team ownership rarely makes headlines, but a minority stake in the BWT Alpine F1 Team could soon become one of the most strategic assets in the paddock.
In 2023, Renault sold a 24% stake in Alpine Racing Ltd to a consortium led by Otro Capital for €200 million. The deal valued the team at around $900m at the time and brought a range of high-profile investors into F1, including actor Ryan Reynolds and sports stars Rory McIlroy, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Anthony Joshua.
Renault retained control of the team through a 76% shareholding, but the investment was significant in signalling the growing financial appeal of F1 teams.
At the time, the deal was framed as a strategic move to accelerate Alpine’s global profile while attracting outside capital during a period of rapid growth for the sport. Two years later, the landscape looks very different.
Rising team valuations across F1 mean the stake controlled by Otro Capital could now be worth considerably more than the €200m originally paid.
Estimates around Alpine’s overall value have climbed sharply alongside the wider surge in team valuations across the grid, with leading teams such as Mercedes valued at around $6bn following a recent minor stake purchase from CrowdStrike founder George Kurtz.
If Otro Capital chose to sell its 24% holding now, the investor group could therefore stand to make a significant return on what was initially positioned as a long-term strategic investment and that possibility has drawn attention from across the paddock.
Sector previously reported that Christian Horner was exploring the possibility of leading an investor group to acquire the Alpine stake following his departure from Oracle Red Bull Racing last year.
Such a move would give the former team principal a route back into F1 team ownership and potentially a platform to influence the direction of the Enstone operation.
More recently, reports have suggested interest linked to Mercedes and Toto Wolff, although the discussions are understood to centre on the Mercedes organisation rather than Wolff personally acquiring the shares.
Either scenario would have significant implications for the competitive and political landscape of F1.
A Mercedes-backed investment would deepen the relationship between the two organisations following Alpine’s switch to Mercedes power units from 2026.
Such a move could effectively create a satellite structure similar to Red Bull’s arrangement with the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team, strengthening the German manufacturer’s strategic presence on the grid.
A Horner-led investment would represent a very different outcome – having spent two decades building Red Bull into one of F1’s most successful teams, Horner returning with an ownership stake in a rival operation would add another layer to the competitive dynamics of the championship.
Alpine has struggled to consistently challenge the front-running teams in recent seasons, but new investment and leadership influence could reshape its long-term ambitions.
For now, Renault remains firmly in control of the team and any change in ownership would ultimately require the manufacturer’s approval.
But the fact that interest is emerging around a minority stake originally purchased by a celebrity-backed investor group underlines a broader shift in F1.
Teams have become highly valuable assets, protected by the sport’s franchise-style structure and buoyed by rapidly growing commercial revenues, while the presence of figures such as Reynolds and McIlroy may have provided the initial headline when the deal was announced in 2023.
However, the real story now lies in what happens next – if Otro Capital decides the timing is right to exit, the stake it controls could shape the ownership structure of one of F1’s historic teams and with it the balance of power across the grid.
