Question marks over Otro Capital’s future as an Alpine shareholder have brought into focus the complex structures that underpin many F1 teams.
A minority shareholder in the Enstone operation, Otro’s stake has been linked to interest from Christian Horner, Mercedes and others. But who really owns Alpine, and how is the rest of the F1 2026 grid structured?
McLaren
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McLaren’s ownership structure is complicated by virtue of its connection to the broader McLaren Group and the entities that exist within it; namely Racing and the Automotive business.
At Group level, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat is the controlling shareholder, having taken full control in 2024. However, below it there is a blend.
McLaren Racing, the organisation which runs the operation’s F1 and IndyCar teams, is majority owned by McLaren Group, company documents file last October suggest a 70.8 per cent stake.
Approximately 19 per cent is thought to be owned by CYVN Holdings (an Abu Dhabi , which bought out part of MSP Capital’s one-third stake last year (with Mumtalakat acquiring the rest).
Completing the ownership picture is a mixture of minority shareholders, mainly financial investors who have no control over the team.
Mercedes
The factory Mercedes team has three shareholders: Mercedes-Benz AG, Ineos Industries Holdings (Jim Ratcliffe) and Motorsport Invest Limited.
Each owns a third share in the organisation, with team principal Toto Wolff having essentially divested part of his holding late last year.
Motorsport Invest Limited is Wolff’s vehicle to hold his stake in the team, and sold a 15 per cent piece of that organisation to George Kurtz.
That transaction valued the organisation at around $6billion, with PlanetF1.com’s recent estimates now putting that figure at $6.4billion.
Red Bull & Racing Bulls
Complete control of the two ‘Bull’ teams wrests solely with Red Bull GmbH, the Austrian parent company at the top of the global Red Bull empire.
That, in turn, has a comparatively simple structure, with the Yoovidhya family owner 51 per cent and Mark Mateschitz, son of founder Dietrich Mateschitz, maintaining the balance.
Combined, the two teams are worth an estimated $7.5billion combined, with $4.9billion of that tied up in Red Bull Racing.
It’s worth noting that figure excludes Red Bull Powertrains, the value of which is far more difficult to calculate given it supplies engines to only two teams.
However, given its assets, and facilities, it’s suggested that operation could be worth another $1.5billion or more.
By contrast, Mercedes HPP has an estimated value of $5billion, its value derived from multiple customer relationships, a proven pedigree in the sport, together with licensing and intellectual property values.
Ferrari
The sport’s oldest team is owned by Ferrari S.p.A, the parent company of the car brand.
2015 marked a monumental year in the history of Ferrari as the company went public on the New York and Milan stock exchanges.
Exor N.V., the holding company of Fiat founders the Agnelli family, purchased 22.91 per cent.
Piero Ferrari, son of Enzo, inherited 10 per cent upon his father’s death while 67.09 per cent remains publicly traded.
Williams
After decades of family ownership, Williams was sold to an external investor in 2020.
That came in the form of US-based private investment firm Dorilton Capital who took full ownership of the team for a reported $200million.
Much of that was debt repayment, leaving an estimated equity value of just $80million, at a time when it had an enterprise value in the region of $300million.
However, heavy investment was needed, and Dorilton has since invested hundreds of millions of pounds into the organisation, firming up its financial position as its value climbed to $2.7billion.
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Aston Martin
While the team may carry the name of the famed Aston Martin car company, it is an entirely separate operation.
Its ties are commercial, with a recent deal with the automaker conveying naming rights in perpetuity.
That was facilitated by its common owners, namely Yew Tree Consortium which is headed by Lawrence Stroll.
The Aston Martin F1 team is owned by AMR GP Limited, which in turn is controlled by a myriad of other companies that all lead back to Stroll.
The vehicle through which Stroll exercises control is Yew Tree, which is the largest single shareholder group in Aston Martin Lagonda – the common link between the road car business and F1 team.
Haas
Haas is entirely owned by American billionaire Gene Haas, through a combination of companies including Haas Automation and Haas Formula LLC.
There have been suggestions that Toyota could become a part owner in the future, but for now the Japanese brand is just the title sponsor.
Audi
Volkswagen Group is the ultimate shareholder of the Audi team, the entity that was formerly Sauber, having originally acquired a majority holding alongside Longbow Finance, which took control of the squad in 2016.
Headed by Finn Rausing, who played a key part in Marcus Ericsson’s career, a deal with Michael Andretti collapsed before agreeing terms with Audi.
Initially Rausing was poised to retain a stake, but ultimately a complete sale was agreed.
Since formally acquiring the team, Audi sold off 30 per cent to Qatar Investment Authority, one of the largest shareholders in Volkswagen AG.
Alpine
The Alpine F1 team is owned by a combination of Renault Group and Otro Capital, with the former holding 76 per cent of the business.
Renault sold a 24 per cent slice in 2023 to a group of the US investors which had a number of high-profile athletes amongst its ranks.
Three years on and Otro is looking to sell, with a number of suitors linked to the stake.
That includes ex-Red Bull boss Christian Horner, Mercedes-Benz AG and Steve Cohen, the billionaire owned of the New York Mets.
Recent board appointments at Alpine suggest that process has progressed, though there has been no formal announcement regarding Otro’s exit or a transfer of shares – with Renault Group understood to hold a call option and overarching investor approval on any sale.
Cadillac
Though it says Cadillac above the door and there is investment from General Motors to some extent, the company which ultimately owns the F1 team is TWG Global.
Above the Cadillac F1 team sits TWG Cadillac Formula 1 Team LLC, with TWG Motorsports and TWG Global upstream from that.
TWG Group is registered in Delaware, where LLC filings do not disclose beneficial ownership, and there is no requirement to publish the ownership structure.
While specifics of its ownership are publicly available, we know those involved.
Graeme Lowdon is the F1 team principal with Dan Towriss, the man behind what was the Andretti Global empire its CEO.
At TWG Group, there’s involvement from Mark Walkter and Thomas Tull, who have a combined net worth in the region of $18billion, though there are other investors believed to be adding capital.
General Motors’ involvement is essentially branding and power unit supply – there is no evidence of it owning any equity in the team.
Instead, it is listed as a partner, with GM Performance Power Units LLC its engine company.
It’s a deal akin to Aston Martin and Honda, where the two organisations work closely together, but ownership channels remain separate and, as far as the F1 team goes, all the available documentation points to TWG Group as the sole owner.
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