The Alpine F1 team has moved to deny suggestions by 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg that the team is actively seeking new ownership.
Alpine is majority-owned by Renault Group, which maintains a 76 percent holding after shedding a minority stake to external investors last year.
The organisation has been the subject of intense scrutiny amid a cloudy future.
Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo has appointed Flavio Briatore as a special advisor while there has been a change in team principal since the Belgian Grand Prix, with Bruno Famin replaced by Oli Oakes.
It is also expected that Renault will cease its power unit program and instead revert to an external supply, with Mercedes the front runner.
Such a move would reduce its costs and make the organisation more attractive to potential purchasers.
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The appointment of Oakes has been viewed by some as another step in that direction.
Owner of the Hitech junior team, Oakes submitted an expression of interest last year for the operation to join the F1 grid – though did not meet the FIA criteria.
Speaking as part of the Sky Sports commentary during final practice for the Italian Grand Prix, Rosberg claimed he had been approached with an offer to acquire the squad.
He added that the team is highly profitable and valued at close to a billion dollars.
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Alpine’s most recent full-year accounts, which cover the 2022 calendar year, showed a pre-tax profit of £32.7 million, a near £9 million increase on the previous year.
Its 2023 accounts are expected to be filed in the coming weeks.
Approached for clarification by Speedcafe, Rosberg’s claim was denied by the team.
“This statement is incorrect and we would like to clarify that the team is not selling more shares, beyond the 24 percent stake already sold to the Investor Group (Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners, and Maximum Effort Investments) acquired in June 2023,” a spokesperson confirmed to Speedcafe.
“The Investor Group includes a number of international athletes and sports investors, and the Investor Group are constantly looking out for potential new investors as part of their existing 24 percent stake in the team.
“We reiterate what top management have said previously, the team is categorically not for sale.”
Despite that repeated assertion, speculation surrounding the team’s future persists.
Having endured a bleak period, and continued uncertainty surrounding its future despite the assurances from senior management, there does appear to be signs of a turnaround from the squad.
Oakes’ appointment from outside the Renault structure has been viewed as a positive, as has the promotion of Jack Doohan from the Alpine Academy – the first time it has promoted a driver from within into a race seat since Romain Grosjean.
There have also been other appointments, including the opportunistic signing of David Sanchez, one of Famin’s final contributions before his departure.
Renault CEO de Meo was in Monza on Saturday, where Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were both eliminated in Qualifying 2, in 14th and 15th respectively.
The squad sits eighth in the constructors’ championship with 13 points, only nine more than Williams and less than half of what Haas has accumulated in seventh.
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