Briatore blasts Alpine stake price as too high

Flavio Briatore has dismissed the reported asking price for Otro Capital’s minority stake in Alpine as “too high” and “completely crazy,” while stressing that any deal sits with Renault rather than the Formula 1 team’s management.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Alpine executive advisor Briatore made clear he does not see the ongoing stake-sale saga as a team matter. “You know, [it's] nothing to do with the team,” he said. “Renault still has 85, 75% of the team, have a very large majority, and this is really the decision of Renault.”

The criticism centers on the valuation attached to Otro Capital’s 24% holding. The US investment firm bought that stake in 2023 for €200 million, but is now reportedly seeking around €700 million to sell it. Briatore did not hide his view of that leap in price, saying “a lot of people” were talking about the sale and that, for him, the number being discussed was far beyond reason.

When pressed to clarify whether he meant the valuation was excessive, he left no room for doubt. “Exactly, exactly,” Briatore said. “[It's] too high.”

That valuation is not just provoking noise around the paddock. It is already affecting the market for the shares. Mercedes is reported to have backed away from interest after seeing the asking price, turning what might have been a straightforward exit for Otro into a more complicated exercise. In that sense, the headline number is becoming part of the story itself, because it narrows the field of realistic buyers even in a Formula 1 market that has become increasingly aggressive.

Briatore acknowledged that broader backdrop. Team values across F1 have climbed sharply, and he accepted that modern investors are operating in a market where franchises now command far bigger sums than they once did. “But, anyway, this is the market,” he said. “This, Formula 1 is, the team now is working this kind of money. It's fantastic for Formula 1.”

Even so, he drew a line between a booming market and this particular deal. His position was that rising F1 valuations may explain the ambition behind the price, but they do not make the figure sensible.

He also underlined that Alpine itself is not part of the sales process with Otro Capital. “But, really we are not involved in any negotiation with Otro,” Briatore said. “This is more Renault and not us.”

That leaves Renault, as Alpine’s majority owner, carrying the responsibility for whatever comes next. Briatore’s comments make clear that the team wants distance from the sale chatter, but they also expose the tension around a stake price that may test just how far Formula 1’s soaring valuations can go before even serious buyers walk away.