What Motivated Wrexham Co-owner Ryan Reynolds to Join the F1 World and Pick Alpine Out of 10 Teams?

It’s been around 28 months since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney invested in Wrexham AFC. They took over the club by investing $2.5 million. It wasn’t easy to choose a fifth-tier club for the first investment. But the duo did it with an action plan in mind. They wanted to build a club that will be a force to reckon with.

And Wrexham has taken its first step by winning Vanarama National League and getting into the fourth division. Taking the learnings from his ownership days with the world’s third-oldest soccer club, Reynolds is again entering new territory. 

The Deadpool star left everyone stunned with his investment in F1 Team Alpine. The article intends to break down the reasons behind the decision.

Why did Wrexham owners choose F1?

Evaluating F1 takes us back to 2016. Despite being a global sport with 21 races, the viewership was going down for the last ten years. Yes, they were doing nearly $2 billion a year in revenue, but at the cost of losing 40% of viewers. The way Reynolds and McElhenney entered into Wrexham AFC and changed its fortunes, Liberty Media did the same with F1. They purchased F1 for $4.4 billion and brought the sport to the level where it is now the fastest growing.

Liberty Media changed the previous approach and focused on a younger fanbase. They went digital by launching the OTT platform F1 TV. They allowed teams and drivers to engage more with their followers. Then came the game-changing Netflix series Drive To Survive. 

The entertainment-centric approach has been a success for Liberty Media. Moreover, the average age of an F1 fan is currently 32, and it’s the fastest-growing sport on social media. Liberty Media also focused on the US audiences. The average number of viewers for US GP was 500,000. Liberty Media gave TV rights to ESPN for free in the US.

And now, it is over 1.2 million thanks to F1’s social media presence and content-focused strategy. The continuous growth in viewers, with three GPs in the US and one in Canada, might have lured the Canadian actor into getting into F1. Who would not take the opportunity of getting attached to the fastest-growing sport? But then another question arises, why Alpine?

The reason Ryan Reynolds went for Alpine

Alpine is not the most successful F1 team in recent times. They last won the constructor’s championship in 2006. It was known as Renault then. The French sportscar brand rebranded in 2021 to Alpine, intending to expand its luxury car brand. Alpine is decades old car brand known for its lavish cars.

READ MORE: Wrexham’s Hollywood Owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney Team Up With Michael B. Jordan to Acquire Stake in $900,000,000 Alpine F1

And now the French company intends to market it in the US also. Maybe the way Alpine are approaching US markets, joining hands with successful Hollywood actor will help them and vice-versa. Also, Alpine wants to challenge the heights in F1 like Wrexham are doing in soccer. 

WATCH THIS STORY: Wrexham Owners Net Worth Comparison

Isn’t it a great combination? And it won’t be surprising if Alpine is the next sponsor of the Wrexham. What is your take on this?