Ryan Reynolds & Celebrities Invest $218M Into Alpine F1

It’s everyone’s favorite time, RACE WEEKEND! We head to Austria for our second Sprint Shootout of the season.

Here’s what we got this week:

• 💰 Celeb’s F1 Investment: Alpine F1 gets a $218M investment

• 🙃 Nyck in Hot Seat: Horner was skeptical of hire

• 🇦🇹 Austrian GP: Here’s what to expect

PLUS: Big changes for 2024 AlphaTauri, F1 engine noise will get louder in future, Father Stroll wants to be knighted

💰 Celeb’s F1 Investment

French team Alpine secured a significant cash injection of €200m EUR ($218M USD) from a group of investors. Notably, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, co-owners of Wrexham Football Club, are part of this investor group, acquiring a 24% equity stake in Alpine. The investment focuses solely on the F1 team, which aims to achieve break-even in 2026 and generate €8 billion EUR in revenue by 2030.

Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting the strategic importance of Alpine and Formula 1 to the Renault Group. The investment group, which also includes actor Michael B. Jordan, brings diverse expertise and resources to accelerate the development of Alpine F1, driving revenue growth and enhancing brand value.

Meanwhile, on the racing front, drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are representing Alpine in the 2023 F1 season, currently sitting in ninth and tenth positions in the driver standings, respectively.

🙃 Nyck in Hot Seat

Red Bull F1 driver Nyck de Vries has responded to Helmut Marko's admission that signing him for AlphaTauri may have been a mistake, vowing to prove him wrong on the track. Marko, the Red Bull adviser, revealed that team principal Christian Horner had disagreed with the decision to sign de Vries.

Despite struggling to score points this season, de Vries remains focused on changing the perception and believes that patience and continued focus on the job will eventually yield positive results. He aims to let his performance speak for itself and show that he deserves his place in the team. De Vries has been outperformed by teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, in all but one race this season.

🇦🇹 Austrian GP

The second of six Sprints on the F1 calendar kicks off at the Austrian GP. Here’s a quick crash course of what’s to come if you’ve forgotten. The weekend will kick off with a conventional Free Practice 1 session, giving teams their only opportunity to practice on the circuit. Qualifying will then follow later on Friday, determining the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Saturday becomes a Sprint-exclusive day, featuring a new Sprint Shootout session consisting of Q1, Q2, and Q3. Each phase will require different mandatory tire choices. The F1 Sprint race itself will be a 100km race with no mandatory pit stops, offering extra points to the top eight finishers. Sunday's Grand Prix will remain unaffected, using the Friday Qualifying result to determine the starting grid, ensuring that any incidents in the F1 Sprint do not impact the rest of the drivers' weekend.

Drivers and teams will face various challenges. Limited practice time and the need to adapt quickly make qualifying a demanding task, especially for rookies. Pirelli brings the softest tire compounds to the Red Bull Ring, where Friday's qualifying sets Sunday's race grid. The short circuit, tight gaps between cars, and track limits pose additional hurdles (16 laps were deleted last year in qualifying). Start strategies, DRS opportunities, and unpredictable weather conditions (check weather here) will add some excitement. With improved performances from Aston Martin and Mercedes, and Alpine's resurgence, the Austrian GP promises thrilling action on this unique circuit. Read more

💨 Hot Laps

• 🚨 AlphaTauri will undergo significant changes in 2024, including a new name, new sponsors, new managers, and maybe new drivers. The team will also align more closely with Red Bull Racing's design strategy rather than designing their own parts, as they have been doing in recent seasons.

• 📣 F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that the engine noise will increase with the introduction of new regulations in 2026, addressing the desire of fans to hear the powerful sound. The new rules will retain the current V6 turbos and enhance kinetic energy recovery while removing the thermal energy recovery system, ensuring a distinct and louder sound compared to electric drivetrains used in Formula E.

• 👑 Lawrence Stroll believes he deserves to be knighted for his Aston Martin financial support, in both the car manufacturer and the F1 team. He claims to have saved thousands of jobs, invested hundreds of millions into building a new factory and wind tunnel, and contributed over $1.86 billion USD to the company's growth.