Christian Horner eyeing 24% stake in Alpine F1 as Hollywood investors want exit: Report

Former Red Bull CEO and team principal Christian Horner is reportedly eyeing the purchase of the 24% stake in Alpine F1, which Otro Capital currently owns. Otro Capital bought the minority stake in 2023 for 200 million euros (~218 million by the then-currency exchange rate), and had Hollywood investors in the consortium, including Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Other famous names in the consortium were NFL stars of the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, golfer Rory McIlroy, boxer Anthony Joshua, and footballers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Juan Mata. However, in October, the Sports Business Journal reported that Otro Capital was eyeing an exit from the team.

When they bought the 24% stake in 2023, it valued the team at $900 million. Just over two years later, the French team's value has skyrocketed to $1.5 billion, as per Sportico.

Patrick Mahomes with Alpine driver Jack Doohan at the F1 Miami GP - Source: Getty

A new report from de Telegraaf claims Christian Horner, who shares a good relationship with Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore, is eyeing a return to F1 by buying that stake with a group of investors. Reports about the Briton wanting an ownership stake in an F1 team and not just the top managerial position had emerged shortly after his Red Bull exit.

Haas, Aston Martin, Cadillac F1, and Alpine were the teams identified as potential destinations for Horner. In August, Cadillac F1 dismissed the speculation about potentially signing the 52-year-old in place of team principal Graeme Lowdon.

Haas followed suit in October, with team principal Ayao Komatsu revealing that Christian Horner had indeed reached out to the team, but the talks were of an 'exploratory' nature and nothing came of it. Aston Martin was the next team to shut the doors on Horner, with billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll reportedly stating the intent outright while addressing the matter at the AMR headquarters.

Helmut Marko makes explosive Christian Horner claim after Red Bull exit

Helmut Marko with Christian Horner at the F1 Japan Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Red Bull's longtime team advisor Helmut Marko recently left the F1 team after 20 years of leading its driver development program. In an interview with de Limburger a few days after his unexpected resignation, the 82-year-old Austrian made explosive claims about Christian Horner's political ploy within the team.

While addressing a question about the rumored 'power struggle' within the team since early 2024, Marko said:

"That’s how it’s always been described in the media, but it was nothing personal. Together with Didi (late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz), I founded Red Bull Racing in 2005. We appointed Horner as team principal, and I was there as a supervisor. In principle, the power was always in Austria - we made the decisions."

He then recalled an incident from 2022, accusing Christian Horner of trying to take control of Red Bull once he knew about Mateschitz's deteriorating health condition.

"I remember a party earlier that year [2022], ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix. Didi was there but not in good health. Christian came up to me and said, 'He won’t make it to the end of the year.' From that moment on, Christian began cozying up to (Red Bull co-owner) Chalerm Yoovidhya. When Didi passed away later that year, Christian did everything he could to take control of the company with Yoovidhya’s support. On behalf of 'Austria', I did everything possible to prevent that."

After Christian Horner's abrupt exit from Red Bull in July, the team saw a swift turnaround in performance under Laurent Mekies' leadership. Helmut Marko also claimed that the Briton 'lied' a lot and that Max Verstappen would've won the drivers' championship if Horner was axed earlier.

Edited by Yash Kotak