Yet there remains unease from the current 10 teams about letting another team on the grid given it would dilute their prize money payouts.Īny approved new entrant is currently required to pay a $200 million fee to join the grid, but teams see this figure - set in 2020 - as being far too low given the sport’s current financial state. Michael Andretti, the owner of American racing squad Andretti Autosport, has been trying to establish a new F1 operation, even announcing a planned connection to General Motors back in January. Moreover, you can’t simply decide to go and race in F1. “We think Alpine is the perfect vehicle: a works team, an iconic team, high performance built into it, and the brand is just getting started.” “If you look at what Liberty (Media) has done, fixing the structure of the sport with the cost cap, and then launching the sport in the United States, we think it’s the perfect time to invest,” said Scheiner. With the cost cap now limiting teams to a baseline spend of $145 million per year, budgets are happily sustainable. That increase flows through to the teams: $1.157 billion was paid out in prize money between the 10 teams, up from $1.068 billion in 2021. According to F1’s latest financial results in March, overall revenue was up 20 per cent to $2.573 billion through 2022. According to ESPN, three of the four largest live US TV audiences have come in the 2023 season.į1 revenues reflect the boom. F1 will race in Las Vegas later this year, holding a race along the Strip on a Saturday night for the first time.Įven in a season dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull, fan interest remains strong. Races are typically sold out, or close, and the American wave is one the sport is keen to ride. The deal is now widely regarded in the paddock to be a steal.įueled in part by the popularity of “Drive to Survive” on Netflix, F1 has gone from a niche interest series to one with a far greater reach. Back in 2020, American investment company Dorilton Capital bought the struggling Williams team for $179 million. The sums involved in the deal, which values Alpine Racing at around $900 million, illustrate F1’s current boom. So I apologize after today’s news!” A booming series Appearing in a press conference on Monday in Enstone, Otro Capital co-founding partner Alec Scheiner opened by saying: “I realized walking up here that most of you were probably expecting Ryan Reynolds. There is also the added pull that figures like Reynolds and McElhenney will bring to the Alpine project, especially among younger fans. This investment will help Alpine build the tools to improve its car design and give it a chance to compete at the front. Transforming a team’s fortunes overnight is hard in F1: It takes time to upgrade facilities, meaning bigger, better-funded operations such as Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari are hard to catch, even with the recently implemented cost cap. On-track, the investment can also be a boon. The understanding of the American market makes the involvement of these new investors especially valuable. It plans to launch its A110 sports car in the US in 2026, and have all its planned car models available from 2027. But the United States is a key market for its future. It has two French drivers in Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, both grand prix winners, and splits its operations across Enstone in England, and Viry-Châtillon in France. Renault has always been aware of the marketing might of its F1 team, explaining the decision to rebrand as Alpine in 2021 to generate more interest in its sports car brand. Otro Capital has chiefly been involved in football through the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns, while RedBird invests in Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, and purchased Italian soccer giant AC Milan last year.Īll this experience stands to benefit Alpine in a couple of ways. Reynolds and McElhenney’s Maximum Effort Investments is part of a consortium that has significant involvement and experience in sport. Unlike Wrexham, the investment in Alpine is not a complete takeover. No other club at the same level has such a huge appeal. Next month, it will play in Los Angeles as part of a pre-season tour. It is now back in the English Football League - the top four divisions - and has attracted sponsorship from TikTok and United Airlines. The club has gone from struggling in the fifth tier of England’s soccer to one with an extremely high ceiling. “Deadpool” lead Reynolds’ 2020 purchase of Wrexham for $2.5 million alongside “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” co-creator and star McElhenney became one of the biggest stories in sports. But why are Reynolds and McElhenney getting involved in F1? Making an impact It’s a big money deal that brings yet more American investment to the series.
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