Alpine rookie Jack Doohan will be sporting a new lid for the Miami Grand Prix, courtesy of Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim. The realtor-turned-reality star found fame when his Netflix smash hit debuted the same month as Drive To Survive, and he’s since become a Formula 1 obsessive. The Oppenheim Group owner started attending races in 2023 and quickly struck up a friendship with members of Alpine Racing, including 22-year-old Doohan.
“Excited to announce a special collaboration between The Oppenheim Group and my friend Jack Doohan,” he captioned an Instagram video this week. “We are creating a custom racing helmet for Jack to wear as he competes in the Miami Grand Prix,” the luxury real estate mogul added, asking his 1.5 million followers for “ideas and suggestions to include in the final design.” The deal appears to have been struck between Oppenheim and Doohan’s team directly, rather than Alpine, although the broker has been a guest of the Enstone-based outfit on multiple occasions.
He’s attended half a dozen races over the past two years, and presumably became pally with the Australian when he was a reserve driver with much more downtime to chat to VIP guests. Jason and his twin brother Brett have since become recurring figures in the paddock, along with fellow Selling Sunset cast members Mary Fitzgerald and Romain Bonnet. The foursome have been seen so regularly at American races that it’s clear their passion for the sport is genuine.
While Jason’s deal with Doohan isn’t exactly breaking new ground, it’s a positive sign for Liberty Media. Formula 1 and its key sponsors have made a concerted effort to lure in high-profile figures from the worlds of music, fashion, sports and Hollywood, hoping to convert them into lifelong fans. But Jason isn’t just another paddock ornament, he’s become the blueprint for the ideal celebrity pipeline, and has even taken it a step further by meaningfully engaging with the sport. As F1’s popularity continues to rise, an A-lister simply showing up and posing for a snap is no longer fodder for a news story. Alpine is among the few teams that seem to realize that, and have used their proximity to celebrity to court relevance.
Red Bull Racing receives a Pirelli Pole Position Award from Jason Oppenheim
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
It’s a solid strategy for building goodwill, and if the team’s high-profile investors – including Ryan Reynolds, Michael B. Jordan, Travis Kelce, and Patrick Mahomes – have taught us anything, it’s that sometimes, the best way to stay relevant isn’t through championship points, but cultural capital. For Doohan, the collaboration with the Oppenheim Group won’t move the needle in his career (or save him from the possibility of Franco Colapinto taking his job), but it does boost his name recognition in front of a new audience that F1 has been eager to capture. And in a sport where sponsorships and visibility can be almost as important as raw talent, that’s never a bad thing.
