Alpine announces resignation of team principal Oliver Oakes
Less than a year after his appointment, Oliver Oakes threw in the towel and was replaced on the pit wall by the French team's sporting advisor, Flavio Briatore.
It was through a simple statement released two days after the Miami Grand Prix that the F1 world learned with astonishment of the resignation of Oliver Oakes, the team principal of Alpine F1. Astonishment because the British leader had only been in the position since July 31st and was supposed to embody the renewal of the French team after several years of instability within its management.
The co-founder of the Hitech GP team that races in F2 and F3 therefore did not even stay a full year at the helm of Alpine F1 Team. During the summer of 2024, Oakes was called by Lucas De Meo and Flavio Briatore to succeed Bruno Famin, who himself had succeeded Otmar Szafnauer in August 2023. The departure of someone often compared to Christian Horner is thus yet another chapter in the turbulent history of Alpine in Formula 1.
In the statement from the French team, it is announced that the resignation has been accepted with immediate effect. Consequently, it is Flavio Briatore, the sporting advisor, who will take over on an interim basis. The Italian knows this position well, as he previously held it when the team was called Benetton and then Renault in the 1990s and 2000s. At that time, the man who turned 75 on April 12 enabled the French manufacturer to win two drivers’ titles with Fernando Alonso and two constructors’ titles.
The BWT Alpine Formula 1 team announces the resignation of Oliver Oakes from his position as Team Principal. The team has accepted his resignation with immediate effect. As of today, Flavio Briatore will continue his role as executive advisor and will also assume the duties previously held by Oliver Oakes.
Still in the statement, Alpine F1 also takes the opportunity to thank Oakes for his contribution last season, allowing the team based in Enstone to finish sixth in the constructors’ championship. Notably, there was the double podium of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The team wishes to thank Oliver for his commitment since his arrival last summer and for his contribution to achieving sixth place in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship. The team will not make any further comments.
All is not well at Alpine with this announcement coming at a time when rumors of Jack Doohan being replaced by Franco Colapinto are becoming increasingly insistent.
