Formula 1 News: Wolff vs. Horner in race for Alpine stake

(GMM) Mercedes Motorsports boss Toto Wolff has emerged as a surprise contender for a stake in Alpine, potentially putting Wolff on a collision course with arch rival Christian Horner in a race to acquire the 24 percent shareholding being offloaded by Otro Capital.

Horner and a group of investors have been linked with the Otro stake for some time, but Mercedes’ interest adds a significant new dimension – particularly given that Alpine now runs customer Mercedes power units.

A Mercedes spokesman declined to deny the reports. “Mercedes is a crucial strategic partner of Alpine and we stay up to date with the latest developments,” he said.

Alpine were similarly guarded.

“We can’t say anything about specific names or individuals. These discussions are not up to the team, but between the shareholders and the interested parties. We focus on the Formula 1 season and the constant improvement in performance,” the official insisted.

The development is intriguing given that Wolff last November sold 15 percent of his holding company – equivalent to a 5 percent stake in the Mercedes F1 team – to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz for around $300 million.