P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Christian Horner’s bid to return to F1 has received a major boost with the news that Mercedes have pulled out of buying a stake in Alpine.
A sports journalist who has covered motorsport since 2023 reported that Mercedes has withdrawn from the talks. Christian Horner’s bid to return to F1 received a boost as Mercedes pulled out of buying a stake in Alpine. Otro Capital is looking to sell their 24% stake in Alpine, attracting interest from figures like Horner and Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff. While talks were ongoing with Mercedes, Alpine’s Flavio Briatore clarified that it was the whole F1 team they were engaging with. Despite a power unit partnership between Alpine and Mercedes, BBC Sport revealed that Mercedes backed out of the deal due to a high valuation of $720 million for Otro’s share. This highlights the increasing values of F1 teams, with Ferrari leading the pack at $6.4 billion, followed closely by Mercedes and McLaren in 2025.
