Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to invest in F1 team

Wrexham owners and Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are part of an investor group that has bought a 24 per cent in F1 team Alpine.

Renault, the Formula 1 team’s parent company, confirmed that Reynolds and McElhenney have joined RedBird Capital Partners, the US investment firm who own Italian football club AC Milan and also have stakes in Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, in the deal.

The 24 per cent equity purchase of £171m values Alpine at around £706m and the team said they will hope to compete for the F1 world championship following the increased investment.

Alpine, who are based in Britain and were born after Renault rebranded its F1 outfit two years ago, finished fourth in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes last season.

Reynolds and McElhenney made their first steps into sports ownership when they announced a shock takeover of non-league side Wrexham in 2020.

Under their ownership and alongside the popular documentary show Welcome to Wrexham, the Welsh side returned to the Football League with promotion last season following a memorable campaign.

Hollywood actor and Creed star Michael B Jordan, who has a minority stake in Premier League team Bournemouth, and US-based Otro Capital are also among the new group of investors in Alpine, the team confirmed.

Alec Scheiner, co-founder and partner of Otro Capital, will join Alpine Racing’s board of directors.

Renualt added that Otro and Red Bird’s investment included the participation of the Huntsman Family and Main Street Advisors.

Alpine chief executive Laurent Rossi said: "This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels.

“Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognised expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, essential to support our sporting performance over the long term.

“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.”

Alpine’s “Mountain Climber” plan is a target to be competing for championships within 100 races, starting in 2022.

The team announced World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane as a brand ambassador at their car launch in February, while British Olympic gold medal winning boxer Nicola Adams was also unveiled as a mentor and will coach the team’s academy drivers based in Enstone.