Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool's alter ego, has bought a stake in the Alpine F1 team

In a very serious-sounding statement, the Renault Group and Alpine has announced an enormous investment from Otro Capital, their partner RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments into Alpine Racing.

It’s the latter of those investors that’s caught the eye, because MEI is led by Mr Ryan Reynolds, who co-owns Wrexham AFC with Rob McElhenney. That’s right - Deadpool now has a stake in Alpine’s F1 team.

Hoo boy, this is going to get… sweary.

We jest, of course. Deadpool isn’t real! But the €200 million investment is, as is Reynolds and McElhenney’s success in getting Wrexham promoted up a league. We’re told the investment and subsequent 24 per cent equity stake values Alpine Racing at US$900 million.

It also means Alpine can leverage the new investment group’s expertise “including media, sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, commercial rights management, licensing and merchandising strategies”.

Renault Group boss Luca de Meo said: “Over the past two years, we have re-ignited Alpine, capitalising on its iconic A110 sports coupé, boosting it by entering Formula 1, where it aims to become a championship contender. This partnership will accelerate Alpine F1 development by diversifying revenue drivers and increasing brand value.”

Alpine boss Laurent Rossi added: “This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels. First, Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognised expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, essential to support our sporting performance over the long term.

“Second, the incremental revenue generated will in turn be reinvested in the team, in order to further accelerate our Mountain Climber plan, aimed at catching up with top teams in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.”

STORY Vijay Pattni