Toto Wolff adamant that Mercedes won’t turn Alpine into their ‘junior team’

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Toto Wolff says Mercedes have no intention of buying out the Alpine Formula 1 team and turning them into a ‘junior team’ akin to Racing Bulls.

It emerged at the start of the week that Wolff and Mercedes are eyeing a 24% share in Alpine, which is currently held by Otro Capital. That stake was previously seen as a potential route back into F1 for Christian Horner.

The story has since developed, with one report on Thursday claiming that Renault’s CEO could give Wolff ‘operational control’ of the team for the right price. The majority shareholder’s long-term commitment to the Alpine F1 project is in question, particularly after they closed down their engine division.

Toto Wolff’s ‘capital letters’ response to Alpine buyout rumours

L’Equipe journalist Frederic Ferret asked Wolff whether Mercedes had any interest in buying out Alpine, and he replied with an emphatic ‘no’.

After Mercedes considered loaning Kimi Antonelli to Alpine (in the event that they signed Max Verstappen), there were suggestions that they could blood future academy graduates at Enstone.

The Red Bull/Racing Bulls dynamic is an ongoing source of controversy, and Will Buxton raised a ‘conflict of interest’ concern over the Mercedes/Alpine rumours.

Flavio Briatore confirms Mercedes’ interest in buying a stake in Alpine

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If the team became Alpine in name only, with Mercedes pulling the strings, they would effectively have two votes at the F1 Commission.

“No,” Wolff said. “And I’m telling you in capital letters: NO. We don’t want to have a junior team. End of story.

Flavio Briatore hints Mercedes would be a ‘passenger’ in Alpine decisions

After confirming Mercedes’ interest in the Friday press conference at the Chinese Grand Prix, Flavio Briatore was asked whether they would have any influence on how the team operated, should negotiations prove successful.

While he acknowledged the comparison with Red Bull/Racing Bulls, Briatore indicated that Mercedes, as a minority shareholder, would be a ‘passenger’ in team decisions.

“Red Bull already is a pioneer in this in the last 10 years or 15 years,” he said. “Like I tell you, Mercedes, one group is looking to buy Otro’s 24 per cent. Normally one company, 75 per cent decide and the 25 per cent is a passenger, and this is the reality.”

Chinese car company BYD are also interested in entering F1, but Briatore wouldn’t comment on rumours that they could try to buy Alpine. That would, of course, be easier than setting up their own operation from scratch.