The F1 team Alpine told in its announcement on Monday that Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments have acquired a 24 percent stake in Alpine Racing Limited, which manages the team, for 200 million euros.
A Canadian actor is involved in this group of investors through Maximum Effort Investments Ryan Reynolds46, and the US Actors Rob McElhenney46, and Michael B. Jordan36.
– Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners, which have the brand building skills of Maximum Effort Investments (headed by Ryan Reynolds), bring successful sports and media experience and operational expertise to building fast-growing companies, Alpine’s release painted.
CEO of Alpine’s parent company Renault Luca de Meo according to Alpine’s goal is to join the championship fight.
– This partnership accelerates Alpine’s F1 development by diversifying opportunities for financial returns and increasing the value of the brand.
The drivers of the stable, which has its headquarters in Enstone, England, are currently French Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Alpine is fifth in the manufacturers’ point standings. From the 2023 season, the team has one podium finish, when Ocon finished third in Monaco.
Renault celebrated 2005 and 2006 Fernando Alonso leading both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships. Since then, the team has been left at the feet of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, for example in their facilities.
Under the Alpine name, the team started in the 2021 season, when Renault rebranded the team to market its own sports car brand. In between, the name of the team had also become Lotus F1 Team.
After the sale, the value of the Alpine team is estimated at 900 million dollars, i.e. around 825 million euros. The main owner of Alpine’s F1 team is Renault.
Alpine Racing SAS, the company that manufactures F1 engines, is not involved in the new deal, but remains fully owned by the Renault Group.
The American investment company RedBird is a part owner in Fenway Sports Group, which owns, among other things, the football team Liverpool and the baseball team Boston Red Sox.
A new rags-to-riches story?
Reynolds and McElhenney are well known in sports as they own Wrexham AFC, the third oldest football club in the world and the oldest in Wales. The duo bought the club in the beginning of 2021 when they were struggling with financial problems.
The club made headlines through its owners and sponsors began to be found. Playing in the fifth league level, Wrexham was the first non-league team to get into the Fifa22 game and the club was made into the highly popular documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.
In England, the top four tiers of the league are counted as league clubs. In the spring of 2023, Wrexham finally returned to that group, after a 15-year absence, when they won the National League.
When Wrexham’s promotion was assured, the spectators took over the pitch and in the stands Reynolds and McElhenney hugged each other with tears in their eyes.
Read more: A Hollywood fairy tale that came true – Wrexham’s rise to fourth in the top flight sent a crowd of ten thousand fans into a frenzy
Michael B. Jordan is also well-known in football designs, as he is a part owner of the English Premier League club Bournemouth.
The Guardian write Alpine now hopes that thanks to the acting duo, the team will be able to enjoy an unlikely rags-to-riches story like Wrexham.
A continuation of the Welcome to Wrexham series is planned. The Guardian wondered if Reynolds and McElhenney intend to document their antics in the F1 world as well, as the formulas already have their own “soap opera”, the Drive to Survive series.
– Reynolds, McElhenney and Jordan’s investment in Alpine and their involvement in amassing Alpine’s fortunes is a story ready to be dramatized and would no doubt appeal to emerging markets in the US.
The popularity of the F1 tour has developed enormously in the United States in recent years. In particular, Drive to Survive has been considered the background of the rise. No fewer than three F1 races will be held in the USA this season.
The Alpine news tells about how strongly the teams want to succeed in the competition in the North American market. CEO of Alpine Laurent Rossi said that now the goal is to enhance the team’s media and marketing strategy, “which is necessary to support sports performance in the long term”.
The Guardian also reminded how strongly the F1 circus has changed since the US media giant Liberty Media bought the series in 2016.
In the past, the F1 series was an “expensive hobby”. Among other things, the budget ceiling set for the teams and the increased interest worldwide have shaped the series towards a financially sustainable business.
Which team will be the first to claim their F1 place?
At the beginning of the week, even more news was heard from the F1 world. Hitech Grand Prix, the British team competing in the lower formula classes announcedthat Kazakh billionaire Vladimir Kim has bought 25 percent of Hitech Global Holdings Limited, which runs the team.
Kim has become rich in the mining, banking and aviation industries. Forbes estimates his net worth is $4.6 billion.
At the same time, Hitech confirmed that it is aiming for an F1 seat from the 2026 season. The team said it wants to show that it has “all the right people, experience and resources to compete with the best in the world”.
Currently, the International Automobile Federation FIA is evaluating several offers. According to Motorsport The American ex-racing driver has publicly confirmed his F1 application Michael Andretti and previously worked as the boss of the BAR team in the F1 series Craig Pollock.
Andretti confirmed, that the US companies Andretti Global and General Motors, which owns the Cadillac brand, are seeking a place in the F1 series. Andretti’s goal is to bring the Cadillac brand into the formulas from the 2025 season.
Pollock is planning, that his Formula Equal team would drive in F1 from 2026. The stable’s background idea is that 50 percent of its employees would be women.
In February, the FIA started the official application process with the aim of finding one or more teams that would be interested in joining the F1 series from 2025, 2026 or 2027.
Other F1 teams have been cautious in their approach to new teams. The new team should pay 200 million dollars as compensation, which would be divided between the current ten teams. In the opinion of modern teams, the participation fee is not sufficient.
The F1 season continues this weekend in Austria. Friday’s program includes time trials, Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race.