Horner in talks with MSP Sports Capital over £450m Alpine F1 stake
Former Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner could return to the Formula 1 grid as a team owner at Alpine.
A 24 per cent stake in the French team owned by Otro Capital has been at the heart of a number of sale discussions over recent months, with Horner involved in those.
But the Englishman, who spent 20 years with Red Bull before leaving last year, is in talks with former McLaren Racing investors MSP Sports Capital about investing in Alpine, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.
The deal could value the team at £1.8bn ($2.5bn) and would come after a flurry of deals and stake sales within Formula 1.
MSP Sports Capital exited constructors’ champions McLaren in 2025, alongside other minority investors, in a deal with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat that valued the Woking-based team at over $5bn.
Horner back in Formula 1?
A touted Alpine bid between Horner, former F1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, the controversial de facto team principal of the French team, was described last year by Mercedes co-owner Toto Wolff as the “three sharks” bid.
Horner left Red Bull after two decades at the helm of a team who, for extended periods, dominated the sport. But the former principal, who is married to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, faced issues at the outfit.
Following the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022 there had been talks of internal team rifts, while Horner faced allegations – which he denied before being cleared by an internal investigation – of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee.
He also faced being criticised by driver Max Verstappen’s father Jos and had to deal with a number of high-profile departures, including design guru Adrien Newey, who is now with Aston Martin.
“Any approaches or discussions are with existing shareholders, Otro Capital and Renault Group, not directly with Flavio Briatore or the team,” Alpine said recently.