Toto Wolff is reportedly leading a Mercedes bid to buy a share in Alpine, which would revive his longstanding and infamous Formula 1 rivalry with Christian Horner.
The Enstone-based squad has a 24 per cent stake owned by sports equity company Otro Capital, which has been the subject of prior interest from Horner.
The former Red Bull Team Principal has been the subject of prolonged rumour that he is keen to buy the stake, in a move which would unite him with friend and Alpine Executive Advisor, Flavio Briatore.
Briatore has previously stated “a few groups” are keen on purchasing Otro’s stake, but did not specifically disclose any names of the groups or individuals.
Wolff recently sold a 15 per cent stake in Mercedes – worth around £230 million – to George Kurtz, chief of major Mercedes sponsor CrowdStrike.
And a report from The Telegraph suggests that the Austrian will now turn his attention to widening his net elsewhere across the grid.
Wolff has previous interest in other teams, having been a shareholder in Williams before taking up his post at Mercedes Team Principal and CEO.
The move would also strengthen Alpine’s relationship with Mercedes, the team having become a customer of its power units from the 2026 season.
Alpine bids adds new element to ‘love to hate’ competition between Wolff and Horner
The move to buy the Alpine would reignite one of the most talked-about off-track rivalries, as Wolff and Horner endured a long and contentious battle which spilled over from the on-track rivalry of their respective teams.
Some of the pair’s exchanges were caught by Netflix cameras for Drive to Survive, including the memorable debate on porpoising cars, to which Horner told Wolff: “If you’ve got a problem, change your f***ing car.”
In the most recent series, Horner was interviewed after his sensational ousting from the Milton Keynes-based squad, and revealed a text message from Wolff which read: “I didn’t know what to say, because on one side you’ve been a real a***ole, but on the other hand, the sport will miss one of its main protagonists.
“Who should I fight? And ‘love to hate’, as you always said? Wolff and Horner have a combined 14 of the last 15 world championships. Not a bad points statistic.”
Horner then explained that he sent Wolff a reply, saying: “I’ve loved locking horns with you all these years. So thank you for the rivalry, the competition and the needle. No one else even came close, as the statistics point out. I wish you all the best for the future. PS: You need a haircut.”
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