Flavio Briatore has seen Formula 1 through multiple eras, from the gritty paddocks of the 1990s to today’s glitzy, investor-fuelled boom. And if the flamboyant Italian is right, the sport’s financial revolution is only just getting started.
Speaking in an interview with The Race Business, the Alpine executive adviser suggested that the biggest teams on the grid could one day command eye-watering valuations of $10 billion.
The claim is striking enough on its own, but Briatore went a step further: if Alpine were his personal asset, he says he would already be heading for the exit.
From $80 million to billions
Briatore contrasted today’s market with the days when he sold his stake in Benetton, the team that carried Michael Schumacher to world titles.
"I sold my share in Benetton, and the value of the team was $80 million," Briatore said.
"OK, now you're talking about $3.5billion, $4billion. And everybody’s predicting, you're talking with these finance people, talking about, "OK, Formula 1 in three, four years, the team is worth $10billion."
The remark captures the extraordinary transformation of F1 ownership. Teams that were once niche racing businesses are now viewed as global entertainment franchises, attracting private equity firms, celebrities and major institutional investors.
When asked whether team valuations had reached their peak, Briatore’s response was delivered with a grin: “If the team was mine, I'd have sold already!"
Alpine’s valuation battle
The backdrop to Briatore’s comments is the ongoing effort by Otro Capital to sell its 24% stake in Alpine F1 Team.
Otro bought the shareholding in 2023 for €200 million, but discussions in recent months have reportedly implied a far richer valuation for the Enstone-based team, one that Forbes’ recently put at between $2 billion and $2.45 billion in total.
But Briatore argued that Alpine is worth significantly more than outside estimates suggest.
"No, no, we are more, because we have an offer, we have an [offer] for the 24% of Otro, the valuation [is] 3.2. So we have 40% of the valuation of Renault.
"All [of] Renault is worth 8.3 [billion]. And we're working at this 3.5 [billion] valuation. So we're representing 40% or 50%."
If those numbers hold, Alpine alone would account for nearly half the value of the wider Renault group, a remarkable statistic for a team that has struggled to establish itself as a consistent front-runner.
The Otro dilemma
Renault retains veto rights over any sale of Otro’s stake until September, and the future ownership structure remains uncertain. Briatore, however, insisted that the deadline is not keeping him awake at night.
"Not really my problem, this is more the issue of Renault. Sure, to have a partner, of 24%, I expect somebody to give not only the finance, [but to] give some help in technology or whatever, or whatever in finance," he said.
He also questioned whether any investor would commit such a large sum without the blessing of the controlling shareholder.
"But in September, I don't think nothing [will] happen dramatically, because I see it as very difficult for somebody to buy 24% of one company, with no agreement with the majority.
“I never see somebody spend 600 million to buy a minority, to be signed as partner, if you don't agree with the majority. See what happens."
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For Briatore, the ownership debate is largely a corporate matter rather than a sporting one.
"Renault is negotiating. For the team point of view, for me, it makes no difference. We have Otro, now tomorrow we have somebody else,” he said.
Whether or not Formula 1 teams ultimately reach the $10 billion milestone, Briatore’s comments underline a reality that would have seemed unimaginable when he first entered the sport: in modern F1, the race for financial value may be accelerating even faster than the cars themselves.
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