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<\/p>\nAlpine external investors, including Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, have brought \u201cno added value\u201d to the team, according to parent company Renault, as the French auto brand puts talks of a sale on ice.<\/p>\n
Maximum Effort Investments, led by actors Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Michael B Jordan, was one of three investment vehicles to purchase a 24 per cent share in the Alpine team in 2023 along with RedBird Capital Partners and deal leader Otro Capital.<\/p>\n
Reynolds and McElhenney are best known in the sport world for their investment is in Welsh football club Wrexham via the popular documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.<\/p>\n
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Leclerc wins amidst safety car confusion | 03:32<\/p>\n
RedBird\u2019s investments include Fenway Sports Group, which owns both the Boston Red Sox baseball team and Premier League side Liverpool.<\/p>\n
The deal was worth \u20ac200 million (A$330m) at the time, valuing the team at \u20ac833.3 million ($1.37 billion).<\/p>\n
Though the injection of funds was part of the story, the announcement also heralded that Alpine would benefit from imported expertise in \u201cmedia, sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, commercial rights management, licensing and merchandising strategies\u201d via its new partners.<\/p>\n
Otro\u2019s Alec Scheiner, who sits on the Alpine board, said the deal would \u201cadd value to Alpine\u2019s business operations and brand building, especially in North America\u201d.<\/p>\n
But little has been made publicly of the partnership in the three years since the sale, and Otro is now leading the process to offload the 24 per cent stake in the team.<\/p>\n
The Mercedes team had been in the box seat to acquire the shares, but a deal collapsed over price, with Otro reportedly asking for around $1 billion for its slice, which was at least 25 per cent higher than the Toto Wolff-led team was willing to pay.<\/p>\n
Renault, which reportedly retains veto rights over ownership until September, has since iced talks of a potential sale.<\/p>\n
According to Renault CEO Francois Provost, the French auto giant is in no rush to get the process rolling again given the Otro-led investment is not contributing to Alpine\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe manage the team,\u201d he told <\/a>The Race<\/a>. \u201cOtro has no right, and no added value, to help us to operate. So we are fully responsible.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing the job. The partnership with Otro was not successful.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we are capable to assess together this. They want to sell; they will get the good benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need our agreement to sell, and we\u2019ll do this maybe sooner or later, but from an operation standpoint, [there is] no impact, and this is for me the most important.\u201d<\/p>\n PIT TALK PODCAST: Charles Leclerc is the second non-Mercedes winner of the season after claiming victory at the British Grand Prix, and after another scoreless grand prix for title leader Kimi Antonelli, could unreliability cost Mercedes the championship? | Listen to Pit Talk here ><\/a><\/p>\n Provost said it was imperative that new investors were aligned with Renault\u2019s vision for the team.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, there is no urgency. There are two principles. The first one is Renault will keep the control. We do not intend to sell shares.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second principle is, if ever Otro sells the shares, I want to be sure that with the new one [minority shareholder] we have some intimacy, common goal, and common interest. So it\u2019s why I\u2019m not in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n The value of Otro\u2019s share in the team would have more than tripled had Mercedes accepted the asking price, which would have valued the team at around $4.17 billion.<\/p>\n According to the BBC, however, Mercedes believes the team is worth no more than $3.3 billion.<\/p>\n The nixing of the Mercedes deal might pave the way for Christian Horner and his own group of investors to buy the share, returning the former Red Bull Racing boss to the grid.<\/p>\n Horner intends to return to Formula 1 in a hands-on role<\/a> that comes with a stake in a team, having been unexpectedly dismissed by Red Bull Racing following a boardroom decision made above his head.<\/p>\n Flavio Briatore, the de facto Alpine boss, said he would \u201cwelcome\u201d Horner to the squad, with whom he says he enjoyed a \u201csuper relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n Verstappen crashes out in British GP | 02:19<\/p>\n AUDI TARGETS TITLE IN 2030<\/p>\n Audi will become a championship contender in 2030 despite its recent history as humble midfield operation, according to team boss Mattia Binotto.<\/p>\n The Volkswagen-owned German brand officially joined the Formula 1 grid this season after completing its purchase of Switzerland-based Sauber in recent years. Audi is manufacturing its own engine from scratch at its factory in Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.<\/p>\n Sauber never finished higher than sixth in the teams championship in its last 15 years as an independent constructor. Never in its history, dating back to 1993, did it finish higher than fourth, excluding its five-year stint at the BMW factory team in 2006\u201310.<\/p>\n Audi is currently ninth in the constructors championship with six points, all of which have come from Gabriel Bortoleto. The experienced Nico H\u00fclkenberg is one of only four drivers yet to score this season.<\/p>\n But the team\u2019s lack of score has been down more to execution than outright performance. On average this season it\u2019s been a close seventh fastest over a single lap, behind only Racing Bulls and Alpine among the midfield teams. It\u2019s been quicker than Alpine over the last three rounds.<\/p>\n Speaking to <\/a>Autosport<\/a>, team chief Binotto said it was a strong foundation for the team to start from in building towards a title challenge in five years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve actually set ourselves a goal that extends well beyond 2026 and 2027,\u201d Binotto said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur target is 2030: we want to build a team capable of competing for the world championship.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know there will be important milestones along this journey. The first, for us, will likely be 2028, when we expect to make a further leap in quality.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I see 2026 and 2027 primarily as years of construction, rather than years judged solely on racing results.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the most important results over the next two years will be those related to the growth of the organisation.\u201c<\/p>\n Binotto has praised the work of his Switzerland factory this year, even claiming that the Audi chassis is the fourth best in the sport, nominally putting it among the frontrunners.<\/p>\n The engine has been less competitive, however, in particular at the start. Bortoleto and H\u00fclkenberg have lost a cumulative 55 places across all stats this season, by far the most of any team, which has made it difficult to score points.<\/p>\n But Binotto said engine problems were to be expected given this was Audi\u2019s first attempt at an F1 motor.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew we\u2019d be starting a bit late, because we\u2019re building completely new skills and knowledge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a long-term project and I\u2019m convinced Audi will have a top-notch power unit within a couple of seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cRegarding the chassis, however, I\u2019m very satisfied. We started building this project a couple of years ago, and today we\u2019re starting to see the first results.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat this team has been able to achieve is already a huge success and gives me confidence. It means we have the right people to build a winning team.\u201d<\/p>\n Marc Marquez rules Sachsenring | 00:49<\/p>\n NEWEY REGRETS LACK OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION<\/p>\n Aston Martin principal Adrian Newey says he should have consulted more with his drivers during the team\u2019s horror start to 2026.<\/p>\n Big-spending Aston Martin had big expectations for 2026, particularly with design guru Newey at the helm of the technical team and with a new works relationship with Honda, but the season has so far been disastrous, with the car-engine package both unreliable and underpowered.<\/p>\n The car has been the slowest on the grid on average this season in both qualifying and the races. Only Fernando Alonso pinching point in Monaco after other drivers served penalties \u2014 including Cadillac\u2019s Sergio P\u00e9rez, who had been line for 10th place \u2014 is keeping Aston Martin off the bottom of the championship table.<\/p>\n The team is now betting on a major upgrade package between the Hungarian and Dutch Grand Prix \u2014 along with a new engine from Honda around the same time \u2014 to salvage its campaign.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a particularly frustrating situation for Alonso, who is contemplating retirement from the sport and was hoping an improving Aston Martin team would form part of his F1 legacy.<\/p>\n Alonso has even suggested he didn\u2019t have the chance to agree to the decision to pool resources into one big upgrade.<\/p>\n Newey said he recognised his drivers\u2019 frustration given the powerlessness of their situation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst it might not seem like it, we are very much listening to their comments and trying to act upon it,\u201d he said, per The Race.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people don\u2019t feel as if they\u2019re being heard then they of course get very frustrated; it\u2019s human reactions.<\/p>\n \u201cSo perhaps we\u2019ve been guilty of not spending enough time with Fernando and Lance, Jak [Crawford, reserve driver] here, kind of going through exactly what we are trying to achieve with the upgrade package.\u201d<\/p>\n