Why Ryan Reynolds and Alpine show that F1’s boom will outlast Drive to Survive

OPINION: The profile of Alpine's latest investors has garnered plenty of attention after the Hollywood success story of Wrexham Football Club. But there's quite another reason for its significance - the consortium has signed on the dotted line in the expectation of a return on investment, in a show of faith that Formula 1's current popularity boom isn't about to end anytime soon

It was all a bit ham-fisted when Alpine launched the ‘Fernando Alonso’ edition of its A110 road car during the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix weekend. The manufacturer was celebrating a driver who had just made management look foolish by breaking away from contract talks to sign for rival Aston Martin. And because the company had to rush the unveil before Alonso started dressing in British Racing Green, only Suzuka would do since Alpine doesn’t sell cars in Central America and the following Formula 1 races were set for the United States, Mexico and Brazil.

Here was a snapshot of a niche Renault Group sportscar sub-brand whose marketing campaign was poorly executed and who carried little global recognition beyond its 1970s World Rally Championship success and grand prix team. But wind on 10 months and the F1 chassis operation alone can now boast a value of a staggering £717million (minus the Viry engine site) after a 24% stake was sold to a consortium for £172m.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.