Alpine boss, Bruno Famin has dismissed Helmut Marko's suggestion that Andretti should buy the troubled French outfit.

"Andretti should buy the Alpine team," the Red Bull consultant told Sport1.de earlier this week. "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."

The Austrian's comment came in the wake of a troubled Belgian Grand Prix weekend which saw three significant members of the French team part company, including team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

While the FIA is still considering a number of potential new teams, F1 bosses, along with the majority of existing teams, continue to express their opposition to the idea.

Consequently, it is considered that any prospective entrant should consider purchasing an existing team, though, much like a run-down property in an area targeted for significant gentrification this has only caused the asking price to rise.

Whatever the offer however, Famin insists that Alpine is not for sale, despite the recent investment of €200 million which according to the French team values it at around $900 million.

"We have a fascinating project with Alpine," he said, according to Speedcafe. "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."

Fact is that even when it was winning titles with Williams and Red Bull, not to mention its own successes, Renault did little to capitalise on its achievements, while Alpine as a brand is barely recognised.

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