Despite $218,000,000 injected funds, Alpine reportedly wants to sell its $900,000,000 F1 shop
Alpine recently received a huge cash injection worth around $218,000,000 when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhanney led a consortium that invested in the French outfit. However, even after receiving such a huge backing, there have been recent rumors, as reported by Formulapassion.it, that the French company wants to get rid of one of their $900,000,000 factories.
Alpine has struggled quite a lot throughout the 2023 season and the team has found it hard to keep up with the development of its rivals. With just 10 races to go this season, the Enstone outfit is currently P6 in the constructor’s championship.
It was reported that the team had to take the money in order to pay off a loan to their parent company Renault. The investment led to Alpine’s valuation shooting up to more than $800,000,000 but not everyone was satisfied with this.
In a recent interview, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan slammed the move claiming that it is extremely ridiculous to invest so much money in a team that is nowhere near the front of the grid. Now, rumors are pointing towards Alpine wanting to get rid of their F1 program altogether.
A new step in the Alpine renovation process
As per a recent report by Formulapassion.it, Alpine are allegedly looking to sell one of their factories. The exact factory that they are looking to part ways with is their chassis factory at Enstone, where the Alpine A523 chassis is currently produced.
Selling off the factory worth $900,000,000 would mean that the company is considering to stay in the sport as just an engine manufacturer from 2026. The funds that they would acquire from the deal might also help the team overcome their current situation.
Continuano i rumors intorno all’#Alpine: secondo alcune fonti, la Casa francese starebbe valutando di vendere la fabbrica dei telai di Enstone restando in #F1 solo come motorista dal 2026 👀#Andretti alla porta❓ pic.twitter.com/yXfh46DX2F
— FormulaPassion.it (@FormulaPassion) August 19, 2023
The team is already going through a major crisis period after they recently sacked major personnel including team principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane. All of this is part of a major renovation process that Renault wants Alpine to go through.
A new door opens up for Andretti
If Alpine decide to sell off their chassis factory and stay in F1 as just an engine manufacturer, this opens up the way for Andretti to take over the current workings of the team and make their much awaited entry in F1.
This was also suggested by Helmut Marko, who believes that it would be a win win situation for both the parties. Andretti would be able to realize their dreams of stepping into the premium class of motorsports, and the Alpine team might find a lifeline, even if not under their own name.
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