Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Mercedes has halted talks to buy Otro Capital’s 24% stake in Alpine after the two sides failed to agree on the team’s valuation, collapsing a deal that would have deepened the manufacturers’ links beyond their current engine supply arrangement.
BBC Sport reported that Otro wanted $720 million for its shareholding, a price that valued Alpine at $3 billion overall. Mercedes was prepared to go only as high as $576 million and viewed the team as worth about $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion. The gap proved too wide to bridge.
The discussions had reached an in-principle stage with Alpine owner Renault and Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff involved, but the process is now over. A Renault source told BBC Sport: “We understand that discussions have stopped.”
The failed sale leaves Renault firmly in control of Alpine’s ownership direction at a moment when the team’s position is shifting on and off the track. Alpine is fifth in the constructors’ championship after five races this season after finishing last in 2025, and it also announced a major title sponsorship deal with Gucci this week.
Renault’s influence over any ownership change was always central to the process. It holds veto power over any sale of Otro’s shares until September, and reports said Renault has decided not to continue with further talks. BBC Sport also reported that Renault would have used that veto to block a sale to any group linked to former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
The collapse also matters for Mercedes’ broader Formula 1 planning. Its interest in taking a minority stake in Alpine was tied to a long-term engine supply relationship and the economies of scale that could come with it. Mercedes currently supplies McLaren, Williams and Alpine, but intends to reduce that number to two customer teams by the latest in 2031 under the next engine cycle, leaving one future supply arrangement still unresolved.