Alpine Quote, but not only
Christian Horner has not lost interest in Formula 1 and in fact could be working on a sensational comeback in grand style, leading a new team that would become the 12th on the grid of a Circus that just this year expanded to host the newcomer Cadillac. For now, this scenario is still a fantasy F1 hypothesis, but in the medium term future it could become reality. The brand that Horner would lead and that has already publicly shown interest in F1 is the Chinese giant BYD, which has established itself in recent years as one of the largest car manufacturers in the world and has surpassed Tesla as the leader in electric car production. This sensational scoop is reported by the British site PlanetF1.
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There are several clues about the feasibility of this operation: Horner wants to become a shareholder of a team and no longer just a team principal, as he has been in his twenty years at Red Bull. It is no secret that he has moved to try to acquire 24% of the shares of the Alpine team, put up for sale by the American private equity company Otro Capital. Those shares are also coveted by Mercedes and Toto Wolff, but recent rumors have suggested that BYD is also in the running for the same share package.
At the end of April Stella Li, vice president of BYD, publicly stated that the Chinese group is indeed considering entering Formula 1: “It is a possibility we are considering. It could be a great training ground to further test our technologies,” she said.
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Extra-large grid
However, BYD’s goal might not be limited to acquiring a minority stake in an existing F1 team, but to seriously consider also the possibility of creating a completely new team. Here Horner would come into play again: the English manager was indeed a guest of BYD at some Gala evenings organized by the Chinese brand in Cannes on the occasion of the ongoing Film Festival in the French city. BYD published a video of this event on social media and Horner is clearly visible as a guest of the car manufacturer. Li and Horner would have discussed a possible collaboration should BYD actually decide to enter the Circus with its own team.
Of course, any further grid expansion would need approval from the FIA and F1. President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has already said several times that he is in favor of further expanding the championship if the right candidate arrives and has not hidden that he considers BYD one of these; it would be more difficult to convince Stefano Domenicali and F1. The Circus CEO had said in the past that he wanted to “consider only offers of great significance, because I believe we have already reached a point where there is no more room for maneuver; logistically, we are at the limit.” However, a Chinese manufacturer of BYD’s magnitude could represent a temptation difficult to ignore, especially since the existence of talks between Li and Domenicali has already been confirmed. F1, constantly evolving, could embrace again in a few years an old acquaintance while at the same time expanding towards new horizons.
