Nico Rosberg was approached by £1bn F1 team over ‘opportunity’ to buy part of it

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Nico Rosberg has revealed that a current Formula 1 team contacted him about the possibility of part ownership.

The 2016 F1 World Champion is known for his investments outside of motorsport, having been involved with various technology and sustainability companies.

Nico Rosberg also launched his own motorsport team, Rosberg X Racing, which competes in the all-electric off-road Extreme E championship and won titles in 2021 and 2023.

While commentating for the weekend on Sky Sports for the Italian Grand Prix, Rosberg revealed that an F1 team that is currently on the grid had emailed him about the possibility of investing in the entity.

Nico Rosberg reveals Alpine contacted him over ownership

Rosberg was discussing the upcoming deal expected between Mercedes and Alpine, after it was revealed that Renault plans to shut down its engine operations in Viry Chatillon.

He believes that it does not make sense from a marketing point of view for the team, and expects them to seek out another solution in in the long term.

“Having a Mercedes in the back of an Alpine makes no sense to me, it’s completely wrong. And also that won’t work for the team in the long term anyways, because they are in it for the marketing and that’s not going to work,” said Rosberg.

Rosberg then brought up the email that was sent to him recently by the team over a potential ownership opportunity when discussing it with David Croft and Karun Chandhok.

Rosberg: “I actually have a secondary opportunity in my emails to buy part of Alpine.”
Croft: “You were sent an email asking if you would like to buy a piece of Alpine?”
Rosberg: “Yes!”
Chandhok: “Are you buying it?”
Rosberg: “No!”

A group of high profile sports stars including Liverpool player Trent Alexander-Arnold and NFL player Travis Kelce currently invest in Alpine through a consortium venture.

Alpine faces striking workers over Italian Grand Prix weekend

Alpine staff from their Viry Chatillon headquarters staged a protest during Friday practice, amid anger over Renault’s plans to stop making F1 engines.

According to reports, Alpine is gearing up for a potential sale in the future amid uncertainty over whether Renault wants to continue with the operation altogether.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore

The team recently installed former team boss Flavio Briatore as executive advisor, who has been tasked with turning around their fortunes.

Two entities are reportedly working ‘behind closed doors’ in the F1 paddock for a potential takeover, including Andretti and Hietech who previously had an application rejected by Formula One Management to join the grid.