Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds Are Buying Into Alpine F1
The Alpine Formula 1 team has announced $218 million in new investments, a sale of 24 percent of the team to a wide group private equity partners. Names involved include Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners, and Maximum Effort Investments. The last one is the compelling one: that is the company owned by Green Lantern star and noted Pikachu voice actor Ryan Reynolds. Additionally, Reynolds is bringing along his co-owner at the English soccer club Wrexham, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney.
Alpine is the pair's second investment in sports, but the situation here is very different from their past experience. Wrexham was a fifth-tier team when it was purchased by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020. The team has since become the subject of a Hulu series, garnering new national and global interest as it has grown into a powerhouse at its level. That built to the team scoring 111 points over the course of a season to secure a promotion to EFL League Two, the deceptively-named fourth level of English soccer. Part of the fun of Wrexham is that a build to the Premier League, which would require three more promotions, is such an unlikely outcome. Alpine, on the other hand, is already locked into F1 for the foreseeable future and seems stuck at the front of the mid-field.
With Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari all closer to Red Bull at the front of the grid and everyone from McLaren on back seemingly incapable of fielding a car that can compete for a points-paying finish on a weekly basis, Alpine is on pace for what would be its seventh straight season finishing between fourth and sixth in the constructor's championship. The team has won just once since re-joining the grid as Renault Sport F1 in 2016. As Alpine the automaker plans to grow into a global, full lineup electric car company, Alpine the team has no clear path to becoming a contender in a Formula 1 where parent company Renault expects more. Outside investment from McElhenney, Reynolds, and other private equity groups are a step toward changing that.
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