Mercedes withdraws from Alpine F1 team bidding process

Mercedes has withdrawn from the bidding process for a stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team.The German manufacturer was one of the parties interested in taking on the 24% shareholding in the Alpine squad that is currently owned by American investment group Otro Capital.But, as first reported by the BBC on Friday and confirmed by sources to The Race, it has now elected to step back from a bid, with the sale price from Otro in excess of what it is willing to pay.The BBC suggested that Otro, which purchased its stake for around $230 million in 2023, is seeking around $720 million for the stake. This values the team at around $3 billion – a figure in excess of what Mercedes believes it is worth.With bids understood to have been submitted this week, and Otro’s target higher than what was being offered by Mercedes …