Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the two Hollywood actors who have taken Wrexham back to the Football League, now have another sporting venture to turn their focus to. This time they are part of an investors group, composed of Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, which has bought a 24% stake in Formula One team Alpine.
The cash injection is thought to be worth £171m, and takes the team’s value to £700m, but what does it mean for Formula One and can Alpine catch up with the top teams? For Laurent Rossi, the CEO of Alpine, that’s his main aim, with the team currently sat fifth in the constructors’ standings.
“This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels,” he said.
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“First, Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognized expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, 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.”
That strong track record Rossi mentioned is evident in the group’s investments so far. Along with Wrexham, who have rapidly become the USA’s favourite team thanks to Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and their Disney+ documentary, they have also invested in the Dallas Cowboys and Toulouse FC in France.
But Formula One is a different kettle of fish when it comes to the finances it absorbs. This year the budget cap is set at $135m, down from $145m in 2021 - not that Red Bull listened to that particular limitation. Those millions of dollars can often be withered away with minimal progress on track, but the cap at least provides a level of security for the investors.
This new investment will allow them to improve their own facilities and staff, which should in turn lead to a faster racing car. Having finished fourth last season, the team have been leapfrogged by Aston Martin so far in 2023, a position they will be desperate to reclaim by the time December rolls around.
That looks like a tough task right now, given Aston Martin are already 110 points ahead of them and sit in third, but not impossible. Another challenge may be to crack the big three of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, as Mike Crack’s team have done this term. But Aston Martin have only been able to do that because of the severe underperformance of Ferrari.
Getting close to Mercedes looks like an impossibility, while as things stand Red Bull might as well stick a plaque carrying their name on the top step of the podium - they are that far ahead of the rest of the field. Eight races so far, eight wins and surely a third consecutive world title on the way for Max Verstappen. Seemingly not even Elon Musk’s billions could create a car quicker than the RB19 this year.
The Hollywood stars won’t be as hands on as they are with Wrexham of course, they are only a small part of a minority investment group this time, but the money could take Alpine closer to the big three. Next season will be the litmus test for their progress and anything less than fifth in the Constructors’ Championship has to be seen as a failure.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
