30/08/2025 09:15
Toto Wolff believes the F1 "mafia" would be "reunited" if bitter
rival Christian Horner joined forces with Bernie Ecclestone and
Flavio Briatore in buying out Alpine. Ahead of this weekend's Dutch
Grand Prix, Briatore has ruled out the possibility of former Red
Bull team principal Horner pitching up in a new position at Alpine,
where the 75-year-old Italian serves as de facto team boss after
initially returning as an executive advisor a year ago. Asked
directly on the possibility of Horner joining Alpine, speaking to
the media, including RacingNews365 , Briatore said: "I don't
consider anything in this moment. "Christian is not in Formula 1 at
this moment. I hope he comes back soon. But for the moment, he's
not in the picture of Alpine." It is the second time this week that
a route back into F1 for Horner has been cut off following his
dismissal from Red Bull in early July after 20 years in charge.
Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss also dismissed the notion of the
Englishman joining the American team ahead of its F1 debut next
year. In the background, however, there have been rumours of Horner
joining forces with close friend and former F1 supremo Ecclestone,
along with Briatore, to make a bid for Alpine. The team is in a
state of limbo after ditching Renault as its power unit supplier,
despite the longstanding association with the French manufacturer,
and switching to Mercedes for next season. A new CEO, François
Provost, was also recently appointed, taking over from Luca de Meo.
Viewing the possibility of Horner, Ecclestone and Briatore
partnering up, resulting in the former two, in particular,
returning to F1, Mercedes team boss Wolff said: "Well, that would
be an exciting story, I guess, and would create lots of buzz around
Formula 1. I think we need that. "Formula 1 has always been about
the best racing, with exciting drivers and great personalities. "I
feel that when you look back at the grand era of team owners and
team principals, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Flavio, Montezemolo,
and a few others, maybe we need to work on that. "If there was such
an exciting project, these three guys coming together, all of the
mafia reunited, that would give good content, I guess."
