Christian Horner, the former Red Bull Racing chief, is in talks with institutional investors including a former backer of McLaren Racing about the acquisition of a stake in Alpine, the French Formula One team.
Sky News has learnt that Mr Horner, who left Red Bull Racing last autumn, has been approached by MSP Sports Capital about backing a potential offer for Otro Capital’s 24% stake in the F1 outfit.
Sources said that MSP was among a large group – including high net worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors – which had held talks with Mr Horner about backing his next deal in the sport.
The former Red Bull Racing chief, who spent 20 years with the team, overseeing six constructors’ and eight drivers’ championship victories, has been exploring potential opportunities for a return to F1 in recent months.
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Last month, Alpine confirmed that Mr Horner and his consortium of investors were among multiple parties which had expressed an interest in buying the Otro Capital stake.
“Any approaches or discussions are with existing shareholders, Otro Capital (24%) and Renault Group (76%), not directly with (executive adviser and de facto team boss) Flavio Briatore or the team,” Alpine said.
One insider said any deal was likely to value Alpine at between $2bn and $2.5bn, underlining the rising value of F1 teams throughout the grid.
Mr Horner is ultimately likely to seek a controlling stake in any F1 team in which he acquires an interest, although Renault’s willingness to relinquish majority ownership of Alpine is unclear.
Alpine finished the 2025 World Championship campaign in tenth and last place, collecting just 22 points across the season’s 24 races.
Horner is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell. Pic: AP
By contrast, McLaren, the victorious constructor, amassed 833 points during the season.
Mr Horner, who could not be reached on Monday, has yet to comment publicly on his interest in the Alpine stake.
If completed, a deal would represent the start of a long journey back to the front of the grid given the team’s current standing.
It was unclear on Monday how likely MSP Sports Capital was to participate in a deal with Mr Horner.
The identities of his other prospective backers could not be ascertained.
Last autumn, MSP was among the beneficiaries of a deal valuing McLaren Racing at about £3.5bn, with Mumtalakat, the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund, and Abu Dhabi-based automotive investment group CYVN Holdings, buying the 30% stake in the team that they did not already own.
MSP Sports Capital had spearheaded a deal in 2020 to buy an initial 15pc stake in McLaren Racing which gave the business a post-money valuation of £560m.
The deal provided urgently needed capital to the broader McLaren Group, whose automotive arm’s finances were placed in a parlous state by the pandemic.
The more recent valuation reflected both the stronger financial position of McLaren Group, as well as the phenomenal performance of the McLaren Racing business.
Sports financiers said it also underlined growing investor appetite for F1-related assets, with Aston Martin saying last July that it would sell its stake in its eponymous Grand Prix team at a valuation of £2.4bn.
That deal has yet to be publicly confirmed.
MSP Sports Capital declined to comment on its talks with Mr Horner.