F1 News: Alpine Refuses Andretti Buyout Rumours

According to Red Bull Consultant Helmut Marko "Andretti should buy the Alpine team."

Alpine has been surrounded by controversies lately with the exit of three key members from the team including team principal Otmar Szafnauer following the Belgian Grand Prix. Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko feels that team, which seems to be in troubled waters should be bought by Andretti and that would solve three things.

Firstly, Formula 1 would get to keep its ten teams. With Andretti keen on entering the F1 grid, it has partnered with General Motors to form a new team called Andretti Cadillac. With opposition from the other teams, talks with the FIA have still not reached a fair conclusion if the sport should have more teams on board just yet. Marko believes that an Alpine buyout by Andretti would solve this problem. 

Secondly, despite Andretti's ownership of the team, Renault would still be involved in Formula 1. Marko senses this to be a win-win situation for all. He said:

"Andretti should buy the Alpine team.

"That would be best served for everyone. Formula 1 would keep its ten teams, Andretti could finally get in and Renault would still be involved."

However, Alpine Motorsport's Vice President Bruno Famin insists that the team is not for sale. He believes that Formula 1 offers enough leverage to brand Alpine to advertise itself. He revealed:

"We have a fascinating project with Alpine. The real project is developing the Alpine, supported by the Alpine F1 team, the endurance project, so we are totally focused on that one. It's really part of the Alpine project.

"The more successful we will be in Formula 1, the better it will be for the brand, for sure.

"As it has always been, with all my experience in motorsport, the story is the same, to justify a motorsport programme you need to explain to the big boss that it's the equivalent to advertising.

"The difference with Alpine is that Alpine has the sport in its heart, it's more natural, and it's really the challenge of developing the brand directly, and it's really the strategy of the brand to develop it through motorsport."

Looking at Famin's reluctance, it would be intriguing to see where the talks between Liberty Media and the FIA reach on adding additional teams to the sport.