Horner, Ecclestone and Briatore may unite to buy an F1 team.

Horner's return to Formula 1?

According to The Sun: Toto Wolff expressed readiness to welcome Christian Horner back to the paddock to create a "mafia meeting" with Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore to buy the Alpine team.

Horner was dismissed from his position as head of Red Bull in July, but rumors suggest that the 51-year-old manager plans to invest in an F1 team.

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Alpine appears to be a potential target due to Horner's friendly ties with Briatore's advisor.

Briatore could become an investor to support Horner's proposal alongside former F1 CEO Ecclestone, who lost his position in 2017 after Liberty Media took over.

Mercedes head Wolff noted: "This would be an exciting story, I think, and would create a lot of buzz around Formula 1."

"I believe we need this."

"Formula 1 has always been about the best racing with interesting drivers and great personalities."

"When you think about the great era of team owners and managers like Frank Williams and Ron Dennis, Flavio, Luca di Montezemolo, and a few others."

"Perhaps we should work on this."

"If such an exciting project existed, these three guys would unite, the whole mafia together again, it would provide good content, I think."

Renault owns the majority of the Alpine F1 team, but 24 percent belongs to the American investment company Otro Capital.

Among the investors are notable figures like Anthony Joshua, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Rory McIlroy, as well as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Thus, Horner, Ecclestone, and Briatore would not be the first high-profile figures trying to acquire partial ownership of a team.

Briatore denied the possibility of this happening anytime soon, adding: "I am not considering this at the moment."

"Christian is currently not in Formula 1."

"I hope he returns soon, but for now, he is not in Alpine's plans."

F1 2025

The new Formula 1 is already underway, and one of the teams looks like a leader.

Massive changes in summer led to Lewis Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari, while McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a great chance to stop Max Verstappen's recent dominance.

The Red Bull star is aiming for a record fifth consecutive title.

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Although the events are currently at the rumor stage, Christian Horner's return to Formula 1 and his potential deal with the Alpine team could change the dynamics in motorsport. We will only have to wait for confirmation of these plans to understand what changes can be expected in the near future.