Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 29, 2023 Alpine's Esteban Ocon ahead of the Grand Prix REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
(Reuters) - Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is already reaping the rewards of Ryan Reynolds investing in the Renault-owned Formula One team after securing an invite to join the Hollywood star in filming for 'Deadpool 3'.
Reynolds was announced on Monday, along with fellow actors Rob McElhenney and Michael B. Jordan, in a group of investors taking a 24% equity stake in the Enstone-based former world champions.
Frenchman Ocon told reporters at the Austrian Grand Prix that he was a big fan of Marvel Comics and had made contact with Reynolds on WhatsApp after the deal was announced.
"He told me I was invited on the set in London for the ‘Deadpool’ movie, so I’m definitely going to be going," he added.
"He also said that he was very much looking forward to learn from our world, see how things work, and just to have a racing chat."
Ocon said he had been in the team's simulator, preparing for Spielberg, and sent Reynolds a picture of his view from the cockpit.
The actor, who was absent from an Alpine strategy presentation at Enstone on Monday, then sent him his phone number and email address.
Deadpool 3 is scheduled for release in November 2024.
Reynolds and McElhenney are also known around the world as owners of Welsh soccer club Wrexham, who returned to the English Football League as fifth-tier champions in April this year.
Their docu-series 'Welcome to Wrexham' has proved a big hit in North America, with some Alpine fans wondering whether a "Welcome to Enstone" might be in the pipeline.
Formula One is enjoying a boom in popularity in North America, thanks largely to the success of the Netflix docu-series 'Drive to Survive' and expansion of the calendar to three U.S. races.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)
