Alpine share price surges after Gucci deal in blow to Christian Horner

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Alpine announced a title sponsorship deal with fashion giants Gucci on Wednesday, and it could have ramifications for their talks with Christian Horner.

From the start of 2027, the Enstone outfit will be known as ‘Gucci Racing Alpine Formula 1 team’. The title sponsorship with BWT, which began in 2022 and has inspired the pink and blue colour scheme, comes to an end.

According to The Telegraph, the deal will be worth up to $60m (£45m) per year for Alpine if they achieve all performance-related bonuses. The team have already surpassed their F1-worst 2025 points tally (22) by scoring 35 in the first five rounds, which makes them the ‘best of the rest’ behind the big four.

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Alpine’s majority shareholders Renault have been in talks to sell 24% of the team. Otro Capital, who currently control the minority stake, are looking to turn a huge profit on their $215m (£160m) investment in 2023.

Naturally, a deal of this magnitude will have ramifications for bidders. Former Red Bull boss Horner, who was sacked last July after 20 years in charge, has been going up against Mercedes.

Previously, the Alpine stake was valued at $600m (£448m), which already represented a threefold return for Otro. But the latest report says the consortium value the rebranded business at $3bn, which means their shares are worth $720m (£537m).

In short, the asking price may just have increased by around £100m for Horner and Toto Wolff.

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Zak Brown has written a letter to the FIA pressuring them to block Mercedes’ proposed investment on the grounds of sporting integrity. While that appeared to favour Horner, who has an ‘excellent relationship’ with Flavio Briatore, negotiations were already complicated before the price hike.

Horner was strongly critical of Renault when they were Red Bull’s engine suppliers, and the animosity between him and Wolff, who supplies Alpine’s engines, is another obstacle.

It recently emerged that Horner has held talks with BYD, the Chinese automotive giants, about fronting an entirely new team. Perhaps he will choose to go down that route instead.

“All the gossip, the talk around 24 per cent, Christian Horner, Toto Wolff etc it’s nothing to do with the team,” Briatore said on Wednesday.

“Renault Group has 76 per cent of the shares. Whatever happens with this, has nothing to do with me. Maybe we have a new partner in one month, two months, who knows.”