Alpine F1 Team has received a significant boost after a €200 million investment from a group including Ryan Reynolds and the owners of AC Milan.
This multi-million-pound investment, which Alpine announced on Monday, nets the collective a 24% equity stake. The French manufacturer now estimates that Alpine Racing Ltd is worth roughly $900m as a result of this influx of funding.
Three separate companies have joined forces to create this “Investor Group”. One of these is RedBird Capital Partners, who are majority shareholders of AC Milan. In addition to this, the US investment company is involved with Fenway Sports Group, who own Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox of the MLB among others.
Joining RedBird is Otro Capital. Their co-founder, Alec Scheiner, will have a seat on Alpine Racing’s board of directors following this investment.
Lastly, and most interestingly, comes Maximum Effort Investments. Led by Ryan Reynolds, Maximum Effort also brings more Hollywood stars to the table in the form of Michael B. Jordan. Additionally, Reynold’s Wrexham co-owner – and “It’s Always Sunny” actor – Rob McElhenney is involved.
Alpine hope that this tie-in will lead to an increase in commercial exposure to aid in their future strategy.
Alpine boss reacts to F1 investment from Ryan Reynolds and Co.
This move is a clear statement of intent as the French outfit looks to climb its way back to the top of F1. Alpine, and its former guise as Renault, has taken just one win since returning to the sport as a manufacturer in 2016.
Alpine’s CEO, Laurent Rossi, believes that the investment from these sports industry experts will help the team in the future.
“This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels,” said Rossi, via Alpine’s website. “First, Otro Capital, RedBird, and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track records in the sports industry, will bring their recognised expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy. [This is] essential to support our sporting performance over the long term.
“Second, the incremental revenue generated will in turn be reinvested in the team, in order to further accelerate our Mountain Climber plan, aimed at catching up with top teams in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.”
The “Mountain Climber” plan in question is an internal target that the French team has set itself. Starting in 2022, Alpine plans to be challenging for both driver’s and constructors’ championships within the next 100 races.
How much closer have they got in 2023 so far, then?
Alpine’s 2023 season
With a new driver in Pierre Gasly, Alpine took just two points from the first round in Bahrain. Following this, a double points-finish in Saudi Arabia suggested that they were tracking in the right direction. However, a late collision between Gasly and Esteban Ocon in Australia saw the Enstone-based team leave Melbourne empty-handed.
An incident-filled weekend in Azerbaijan prompted crisis talks, with eighth and ninth for the drivers in Miami doing little to help the situation. CEO Laurent Rossi slammed Alpine’s start to the season as “amateurish”, threatening that heads will roll if there is no improvement.
Mercifully, Esteban Ocon delivered an incredible performance in Monte Carlo. He finished third in the Monaco Grand Prix, with Gasly also impressive in seventh.
A smattering of points from Spain and Canada leaves Alpine fifth in the constructors’ standings. Unfortunately, though, there is a gulf between them and the top four teams. On 44 points, the French outfit are 78 points adrift of Ferrari in fourth.
Clearly, their aspirations of competing for the championships are still a long way off. Maybe the investment from Ryan Reynolds and others can finally propel Alpine back to the top of the F1 standings.
Featured image credit: Getty
