Briatore says F1 teams could hit $10bn value

Flavio Briatore says Formula 1 team values are still climbing fast, with Alpine now being discussed at a $3.2bn to $3.5bn valuation and some teams potentially reaching $10bn within three to four years.

Speaking on The Race Business’s “In Conversation With…” series, the Alpine executive adviser tied that view directly to the attempted sale of Otro Capital’s 24% stake in the team. Briatore said team values have “never been so high” and pointed to the market around Alpine as evidence that the surge is not over.

He contrasted the current numbers with his own past in the sport, saying he sold his share in Benetton when the team was worth $80m. “Today, we talk about 3.5 or 4 billion dollars,” Briatore said, adding that, according to “finance people,” “within three or four years, a Formula 1 team could be worth 10 billion dollars.”

The shift is particularly stark at Alpine. Otro bought its 24% holding for €200m in June 2023, but has spent recent months trying to sell that stake. Renault then intervened in discussions over a possible sale to Mercedes in late May 2026.

Briatore argued that outside valuations such as Forbes’ $2.45bn estimate for Alpine are already too low because the current sale process has effectively reset the market. “No, no, we are more, because we have an offer for the 24% of Otro, the valuation is 3.2,” he said. Another summary of the interview reported Mercedes walked away after a $720m asking price for the stake.

He went further by comparing Alpine’s value with that of its parent company. “All Renault is worth 8.3 billion,” Briatore said. “And we’re working at this 3.5 valuation.” On that basis, he argued the Formula 1 team now represents “40% or 50%” of Renault’s value, a striking position for what is still only one part of the wider group.

Renault retains a veto over any ownership change involving Otro’s shares until September, but Briatore downplayed the idea of a deadline forcing the issue. “I don’t think something spectacular will happen in September,” he said, arguing that “I have never seen someone spend 600 million to acquire a minority stake and become a partner without being aligned with the one who really controls the company.”

For Alpine itself, Briatore said the negotiations do not change the team’s day-to-day position. “Today we have Otro, tomorrow it might be someone else,” he said. The bigger significance, in his view, is what the sale attempt says about Formula 1’s economics: even a minority stake in a midfield team is now being used to test valuations that would have seemed impossible only a few years ago.