Pierre Gasly has said new Alpine investor Ryan Reynolds is one of is ‘favourite actors’ as he explained the true potential of the cash injection into the team.
Hollywood actors Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have joined a group of investors to buy a stake in Alpine Racing, paying €200 million for a 24 per cent equity stake.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Alpine driver Gasly was positive about the move, not only in terms of the influx of cash it will provide but also for its long-term contribution to Alpine’s development.
Asked what the investment means for the team, he responded: Well, that means that we obviously got more investment. But what it means, I think, is just the vision of the team.
“Of Alpine, of the Renault Group, of the Formula 1 team, to expand, to improve for the future in Formula 1, and try to use the expertise of these people that are coming on board.
“Three big firms: Otro, RedBird and Maximum Efforts joining on board. And they’ve got really good expertise and also other sports: NFL NHL, in football, in many other disciplines that will be trying to use as much as we can to improve our strength.”
Gasly also admitted that he is a fan of Reynolds, who has starred in films such as Deadpool and The Proposal.
Ask if he was looking forward to meeting Reynolds, Gasly said: “I must say I'm personally a fan of him and his work. I think (he) is definitely one of my favourite actors.
“And yeah, definitely super-excited to meet him at some point during the season.”