Christian Horner is eager to get back into Formula 1 despite boasting a colossal net worth that far outstrips that of Max Verstappen. Horner, who received an estimated payoff of between £50million and £80m when he was sacked as Red Bull team principal midway through last season, is part of a group interested in investing in the Alpine team.

The consortium is in talks to buy the 24 per cent stake currently owned by Otro Capital, a group that includes high-profile investors such as Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua. Horner has the contacts and, most importantly, the funds to buy his way into an F1 team. The 52-year-old is keen to go in that direction rather than take up another team principal role.

Along with wife Geri, the ex-Spice Girl, the couple are reputedly worth an incredible £440m. That is almost three times the net worth of Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Verstappen at around £168m.

Horner was paid around £10m a year at the time of his sacking, which came following a poor first half of 2025 for Red Bull. The couple owns luxury properties in Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire, near the Alpine team's Enstone base.

The laser-focused Verstappen won't lose any sleep over his former boss's riches. At just 28, with many more F1 seasons ahead of him if he chooses, Verstappen has the potential to vastly increase his wealth.

The Dutchman is believed to pocket £65million a year from Red Bull, where he has spent his entire F1 career to date. That doesn't quite make him the richest current F1 driver. That is Lewis Hamilton, who has an estimated net worth of £385m.

As for Horner's interest in Alpine, the Renault-owned team said it was "no secret" that Otro Capital had held preliminary talks to sell its stake in the team, which finished bottom of the constructors' championship standings last season. They also confirmed that Horner was one of the interested parties.

Alpine said in a statement: "With the continued rapid growth of Formula One, the valuation of the teams has been increasing and, not surprisingly, has led to multiple interested parties looking to enter the sport.

"The team is regularly approached and contacted from potential investors, particularly given Otro Capital declared exploratory talks have taken place. One of those parties to express an interest is a group of investors, which also includes Christian Horner.

"Any approaches or discussions are with the existing shareholders, Otro Capital (24 per cent) and Renault Group (76 per cent), not directly with (boss) Flavio Briatore or the team."

Having ditched its in-house engine programme, Alpine has switched to Mercedes power units for this season, following a massive overhaul of technical regulations. The first of three pre-season tests took place this week in Barcelona. The second and third will be held in Bahrain in February before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.