Alpine's Briatore Denies Plans to Hire Ex-Red Bull Chief Horner

Flavio Briatore, Alpine's executive director and de facto team principal, has firmly dismissed speculation that Christian Horner will join Alpine following his departure from Red Bull Racing. Briatore confirmed that Horner is not currently involved in Formula 1 and that there are no plans to bring him into Alpine at this time. Despite rumors linking Horner with the team and the idea of a potential collaboration involving Briatore, Horner, and Bernie Ecclestone, Briatore emphasized that Horner is not on Alpine's radar. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of such a partnership, terming it "the mafia reunited," but Briatore did not confirm any such developments. Briatore also addressed Alpine's recent driver changes, admitting that replacing Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto might have been a mistake due to the pressure on young drivers. Overall, Alpine is focused on stabilizing its leadership and team performance, with Steve Nielsen set to take over as managing director to oversee operations from A to Z.