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Toto Wolff and Mercedes attempting to purchase equity in Alpine isn’t being scrutinised enough, according to Will Buxton.
It was revealed earlier this week that Wolff and Mercedes bid for a stake in Alpine, providing competition for Christian Horner as he looked to orchestrate his return to Formula 1 through a takeover.
Many of Mercedes’ rivals are watching Wolff’s pursuit of Alpine with a keen eye, as there are several questions being raised about the fairness of the situation.
Who is the best person to run Alpine in Formula 1: Christian Horner, Toto Wolff or Flavio Briatore?
Wolff selling part of his stake in Mercedes a few months ago makes a lot more sense since the news broke of his interest in Alpine.
However, there is a sincere question to be asked about Toto Wolff and Mercedes’ conflict of interest when it comes to Alpine.
READ MORE: Toto Wolff’s Alpine investment talks could further jeopardise McLaren’s relationship with Mercedes
Will Buxton wonders how Toto Wolff and Mercedes aren’t being scrutinised for Alpine bid
Will Buxton pondered the conflict of interest concerns surrounding Toto Wolff and Mercedes’ seeming interest in a minority stake in Alpine.
Speaking on Up To Speed, Buxton harkened back to Wolff’s prior involvement with Williams, and why F1, unlike other sports, don’t have a structure to address multiple investments into teams by individuals and groups.
“Toto used to have his shareholding in Williams, which he sold. I have to raise the issue of conflict of interest. Alpine have Mercedes engines this year.”
“Most sports leagues in the world have conflict of interest clauses that you can’t own majority stakes or just stakes in some cases in multiple teams, specifically to limit the issue of conflict of interest. I find it really interesting that he would be allowed to do that.”
Buxton makes a fair point. Considering that Alpine are not only a ‘rival’ F1 team in the strictest sense of the term, but also a customer for Mercedes, Wolff acquiring a minority stake would lead to an anti-competitive environment in Formula 1.
READ MORE: Alpine have ‘considerable interest’ in Toto Wolff and Christian Horner’s bids amid £2.5bn valuation
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Toto Wolff and Mercedes could be eyeing Red Bull-Racing Bulls dynamic with Alpine
A lot has been made about Wolff and Mercedes’ interest in Alpine. While there was a lot of chatter about Wolff trying to hijack Christian Horner’s return to F1 by intervening in his dealings with Alpine, the real motivation could be a lot bigger for Mercedes.
Red Bull as an organisation manage to own equity in two teams – Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. Racing Bulls acts as a ‘sister’ team, or a developmental team for Red Bull Racing.
Perhaps Mercedes are targeting a similar dynamic, especially as their relationship with Williams no longer grants them similar benefits as it did when Wolff was a minority shareholder.
If that is the case, it would be interesting to know how Renault feel about this. Even with Mercedes and Wolff acquiring the 24% stake in Alpine, Renault still own 76% of the shares, enough to have controlling power.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Renault shut down the prospect of Alpine becoming a sister team, which would drastically impact Wolff and Mercedes’ long-term planning.
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