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FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has hinted that motorsport’s world governing body could prevent Mercedes from buying a minority stake in Formula 1 competitor Alpine.
Mercedes is among the bidders for a 24 per cent stake in Alpine that has been put up for sale by Otro Capital. Former Red Bull principal Christian Horner is fronting a rival bid.
But Ben Sulayem has cast doubt on Mercedes being allowed to proceed, saying that he is opposed to multi-team ownership and that the FIA is considering banning it.
“As long as you are not trying to take it because you don’t want others to take it, or also get voting power when it comes to the regulations, then maybe it’s OK,” he said.
“But then I do believe that owning two [teams] is not the right way – this is my personal point of view – but we are looking into that because it’s a complicated area.
“We put our people to see, is it possible? Is it allowed? Is it the right thing? There is something called a sporting side. If we lose the sporting spirit, I believe that there will not be any more support [from F1 fans]. So to me, I’m not with it 100 per cent.”
Otro Capital’s stake in Alpine is reported to come with decision-making power over driver and team principal hires, as well as some influence on how F1 is run.
Renault owns the rest of Alpine, is thought to favour a tie-up with Mercedes and has an option to dictate who buys Otro Capital’s stake but that expires in September.
FIA rule change could pave way for Horner
Any move by the FIA to outlaw multi-team ownership could also force Red Bull to divest its junior team, Racing Bulls, which it has owned for 20 years.
It could also open the door for Horner – nemesis of Mercedes principal Toto Wolff – to return to F1 at Alpine following his abrupt departure from Red Bull last year.
Ben Sulayem appeared to welcome the idea, saying: “Who can remove Christian Horner’s name from motorsport and Formula 1? You can’t. It was always success.
“But success also has enemies, as we know. If you ask me, we miss him in this sport, and I keep in touch with him, and he was good for the [Red Bull] team, good for the sport. We welcome him back, and someone like him would always find his way.”
Ben Sulayem’s comments come after F1 returned from a five-week hiatus at the Miami Grand Prix, where Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli claimed his third consecutive win of the season on Sunday.
