Addressing the stalemate surrounding the sale of the 24% stake in Alpine owned by Otro Capital, Flavio Briatore made it clear that he isn’t losing any sleep over the situation. The executive advisor insisted that the Formula 1 team is worth far more than current market estimates and quipped that, were he in Renault Group’s shoes, he “would have sold” the Enstone-based outfit already.
With actor Ryan Reynolds, NFL star Travis Kelce, and professional golfer Rory McIlroy among its marquee investors, Otro Capital acquired roughly a quarter of the French team’s shares in 2023 for $200 million. In recent months, however, the firm entered talks with former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and even Mercedes as it seeks to offload its stake, which is now valued at $900 million.
In an interview with The Race, Briatore disputed estimates from business publication Forbes, which recently pegged Alpine’s overall valuation at around $2.5 billion. “No, no, we are worth more than that,” he began.
“We have an offer for Otro’s 24% based on a valuation of $3.2 billion. So we represent 40% of Renault’s valuation. All of Renault is worth $8.3 billion. And we are working towards a $3.5 billion valuation. So we account for 40% or 50%. If the team were mine, I would have sold it already,” he joked.
However, corporate filings in the UK reveal that Otro Capital cannot freely transfer its 24% stake until September of this year, as Renault holds right-of-approval over any potential transaction until that date. To Briatore, that contractual detail is of little concern.
“It’s not really my problem, that’s more of a Renault matter. Of course, when it comes to having a 24% partner, I’d hope someone brings not just money, but also some form of technological assistance, expertise, or financial synergy. But come September, I don’t expect anything dramatic to happen, because it’s very difficult to imagine someone buying 24% of a company without an agreement with the majority shareholder,” he explained.
“I’ve never seen anyone spend $600 million to buy a minority stake and become a partner without having an understanding with the majority shareholder. We’ll see what happens. Renault is negotiating. From a team perspective, it makes no difference to me. We have Otro today; tomorrow, we might have another firm,” Briatore concluded.
Formula 1 is currently on summer break. The series resumes 2026 season action from August 21 to 23 with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
