All eyes are on Alpine's new investors, who announced their purchase of a 24% stake in the French Formula One team this morning. But Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds won't be bothered by this, considering they are both Hollywood actors. This fact may both surprise and upset die-hard F1 fans, who may be questioning the authority of a pair of millionaire actors to be fiddling with their beloved sport. However this investment may prove to be the desired turning point for the Renault powered team, who have spent years in the midfield, to finally be consistently on the winner's podium.
Rob and Ryan already co-own another sports team: Wrexham A.F.C. The actors bought the Welsh club in 2020 for £2 million. In 2023, after only their second full season as owners, the pair watched Wrexham get promoted to the English Football League for the first time in fifteen years. Not only did they invest heavily in the training facilities, and attract huge sponsorship deals such as Tik Tok, but they also managed to attract players well out of their league (literally). In their first year, the duo got Paul Mullin to join the National League despite breaking the League Two scoring record (for one season) and getting promoted to League One just the previous season. This year they managed to sign Ben Foster, who played in the Premier League for Watford just last season and had chosen retirement. This ability to sign players who may have had more attractive offers has been a key factor in their record breaking points tally, and their league title over tough opponents Notts County.
But what does this mean for Alpine? As shown in Wrexham, an attractive project can allow for signings otherwise deemed impossible. Alpine have struggled to hold onto promising talents in their academy: for example Zhou Guanyu joining Alfa Romeo in 2022. The most infamous case, however, was that of Oscar Piastri. The driver ditched Alpine for McLaren despite Alpine announcing him as their driver for the 2023 season. Prior to this Otmar Szafnauer had lost his number one driver: two-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso. Alonso moved to Aston Martin where he has finished on the podium six out of eight times this season. Evidently, Alpine could benefit from keeping their drivers happy.
The recent resurgence of Lawrence Stroll's team (Aston Martin) has shown that an effective owner can have a real impact on the team's performance. Lawrence not only attracted Fernando Alonso to the team after finishing seventh in the constructors championship, but has also produced a car that can break into the top 6. Aston Martin currently sit 3rd in the constructors championship, above Ferrari.
The recent drop in performance of Mercedes last season (with only one race win) and Ferrari this season (with only one podium finish) has shown that the midfield have a real chance of scoring points. Lando Norris has managed a third place qualifying result this season (in a struggling McLaren), and Esteban Ocon has even scored a podium.
Whilst the investment is only a small minority stake, it could attract huge sponsorship deals and match the top three on their quality of facilities. Alpine could seriously start challenging for race wins in the next few seasons (provided Red Bull slow down), especially with two experienced yet still developing drivers.
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