Christian Horner’s Alpine play: Inside the bid for 24% and an F1 comeback

Christian Horner is at the centre of fresh speculation over a return to Formula 1, this time not as an employee but as an investor‑boss. Dutch daily De Telegraaf, echoed by Forbes, MotorsportWeek and Sportskeeda, reports that Horner is fronting a consortium looking at the 24% minority stake in Alpine currently held by US firm Otro Capital – the same slice that was bought in 2023 for about €200m, valuing the team close to $900m.

The contract situation at Enstone is clear. Renault Group remains the majority owner of Alpine, while Otro’s 24% stake was a financial play backed by RedBird, Maximum Effort and a roster of star athletes. Renault’s own announcement confirmed the €200m price and circa $900m valuation, and SportsPro reports that by late October Otro had held exploratory talks about selling, with Renault holding a right of first offer if the Americans choose to exit. Sportskeeda adds that any sale today would likely be at a far higher valuation, with Sportico estimating Alpine around $1.5bn.

Horner’s personal contract picture makes this an intriguing but medium‑term move. ESPN reports that, after being sacked by Red Bull in July despite a deal that ran to 2030, he accepted a reduced settlement in the region of $100m that crucially allows him to work elsewhere in F1 from spring 2026. The Race says his gardening leave expires sometime after the opening flyaway races but before the summer break, and that he is only interested in projects where he has genuine control rather than reporting into a distant corporate hierarchy.

Leading Red Bull Racing has been an honour and privilege,

— Christian Horner, in Red Bull’s statement, via ESPN

Into that backdrop dropped De Telegraaf’s claim that Horner and investors are now targeting Alpine. Forbes summarised the Dutch report by noting that Otro is looking to sell and that Horner’s group is eyeing that minority stake as a route back to the pit wall as both owner and team principal, akin to Toto Wolff’s role at Mercedes. MotorsportWeek goes further, relaying suggestions that Horner could pursue a broader controlling interest with additional backers, even as GPBlog cautions that, on its information, nothing has materially progressed yet.

Horner does not deny that he is in talks with Renault or Alpine,

— De Telegraaf, as reported by Forbes

Publicly, Alpine’s own power broker has tried to cool things. Executive advisor Flavio Briatore, a long‑time Horner ally, told The Race earlier this year that he was not currently considering such a move.

I'm not considering in this moment anything. Christian is not in Formula 1 in this moment anymore. I hope he comes back soon but, for the moment, he's not in the picture of Alpine.

— Flavio Briatore, speaking to The Race

Behind the scenes, however, sources indicate that a Horner‑fronted bid for Otro’s 24% would trigger a series of high‑stakes decisions. Renault must first decide whether to match any offer or allow a new, highly assertive minority partner onto the board, as SportsPro notes its right of first offer. If Horner’s camp can close a deal and secure regulatory approval, he would then be free to step in once his gardening leave expires in 2026, into the kind of equity‑and‑team‑boss package Forbes likens to Toto Wolff’s role at Mercedes, just as Alpine switches to Mercedes power and yet another F1 silly season begins — this time in the boardroom.