In June 2023, Alpine and Otro Capital joined hands as the F1 team sold 24% of its stake to the investment firm for around $217 million. The firm had several star celebs and athletes come together to own a minority stake in the French outfit. Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Rory McIlroy, Juan Mata, and several others made up the list. However, speaking exclusively to F1 Maximaal, F1 expert Peter Windsor believes the team is still a “mess.”
Alpine stayed over $10 million under the cost cap. There are other teams who don’t possibly use up the budget cap to the full extent, but Alpine’s situation is different. The Enstone-based team needs to maximize their resources to continue improving. However, their strategic decisions make Windsor feel like the team is not entirely sorted the way it should be.
“It’s hard for me to imagine Haas achieving that now. Maybe not with Williams either, but I’m not sure. The rest probably use the maximum allowed budget. It’s a bit of a mess at Alpine, isn’t it?”
Alpine has a vast investor base, which continues to attract more money. Aside from Otro Capital, a few more investment firms have their stake in the team. RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments (which also has Ryan Reynolds as an investor).
However, there is no definitive say over who holds the majority stake in the team. It is pertinent to note, however, that the money that has gone into Alpine, is mainly kept aside for non-sporting reasons that will help with their growth.
Fernando Alonso surprised by the downfall of Alpine
Having driven for Alpine in 2022, Fernando Alonso was shocked by the sudden and stark downfall of Alpine. The French team finished 4th in the constructors’ championship two years ago, but they now stand rock bottom in the standings.
RacingNews 365 quoted Alonso’s comments as he remarked on Alpine’s plight. “We were within the top five or six in every race, so it is a little bit surprising to see the current results, but hopefully, they can fix things quickly.”
Having won both of his world titles with the (Renault) team, the downfall hits Alonso hard. Not only has the car been an issue since 2023, but an exodus of key personnel has also caused the situation to deteriorate.
Team Advisor Alain Prost was the first to leave. Alonso and Oscar Piastri followed soon. Things went more south went Otmar Szafnauer left his post as Team Principal. Sporting Director Alan Permane, CEO Laurent Rossi, and CTO Pat Fry have also headed for the exit door. The latest in a series of departures stood as the exit of Matt Harman (Head of Aerodynamics), Dirk de Beer, and Bob Bell.
Alpine’s issues seem never ending, as their start to the 2024 season has been woeful. They finished the first two races of the season without any points scored, which is shocking considering their aim was to be stable in the midfield.
