Hollywood actors buy stake in F1’s Alpine Racing

Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Michael B Jordan are among a consortium that has bought a 24 percent stake in Formula One team Alpine Racing.Alpine’s parent company Renault announced yesterday that the group will invest 200mn ($218mn) for their stake, valuing the team at $900mn, to help Alpine’s "growth strategy and sporting ambitions”."Deadpool” star Reynolds and "It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” creator McElhenney have already enjoyed success with sporting investments as owners of football club Wrexham.Backed by major investment, the Welsh side were promoted to the fourth tier of the English Football League in April for the first time in 15 years."Creed” and "Black Panther” star Jordan also has a stake in Premier League club Bournemouth.Reynolds’ Maximum Effort production company has teamed up with Otro Capital and RedBird Capital Partners, who recently took control of AC Milan and have a stake in Fenway Sports Group, owners of Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox."Alpine F1 team will benefit from the investor group’s collective expertise and track record in the sports industry,” said a statement released by the Renault Group.Alpine’s F1 engine-making entity in the suburbs of Paris is not part of the transaction and will remain entirely owned by Renault. Since the Renault team was rebranded as Alpine in 2021, they have managed one Grand Prix victory and two other podium finishes. Alpine finished fourth in the constructors’ championship last season and sit fifth in the standings eight races into the 2023 season.Hitech seek to enter F1 from 2026 with Kazakh backingBritish racing team Hitech have applied to enter a team in Formula One from 2026 with investment from Kazakh billionaire businessman Vladimir Kim.Hitech Global Holdings, which owns and operates Hitech Grand Prix, said in a statement yesterday it had agreed the sale of a 25% interest to Kim.Hitech Grand Prix currently competes in the Formula Two, Three and Four junior series and employs more than 150 people at Silverstone.Previous Hitech drivers include Russian Nikita Mazepin, whose billionaire father Dmitry was a sponsor until the imposition of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.