- Briatore is Alpine’s fourth team principal in five years
- Decision comes as reserve driver Colapinto replaces Doohan
Oliver Oakes has resigned as team principal of the Alpine Formula One team after just ten months in the role.
A statement from the Enstone-based outfit said they had ‘accepted his resignation with immediate effect’.
Flavio Briatore, who will continue as executive advisor, will cover the roles previously performed by Oakes.
At 36 years old, Oakes became the second-youngest team principal in Formula One history when he was appointed in July 2024, arriving from Hitech Grand Prix, a team that competes in major junior motorsport series including Formula Two and Formula Three.
Alpine will now move on to their fourth team principal in five years.
Otmar Szafnauer departed in July 2023, followed almost exactly a year later by Bruno Famin.
No official explanation has been given for Oakes’ departure, but his resignation on 6th May came less than 24 hours before it was announced that reserve driver Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan for the next five races.
Off-track turbulence has seemingly become the norm for the Alpine team, having also shut down its engine programme at Viry-Chatillon – which has designed and produced engines since 1977 – ahead of a switch to Mercedes power units in 2026.
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BlackBook says…
Ever since Briatore returned to Alpine last June, it felt unlikely that any team principal would have true control over the outfit.
The Italian was a key supporter of promoting Colapinto to a race seat, with reports suggesting he even tried to cancel Doohan’s contract before the start of this season. It was Oakes’ decision to leave, according to BBC Sport, and was a decision almost certainly linked to the team’s driver situation.
Briatore was banned indefinitely from any events sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) following his involvement in the ‘Crashgate’ scandal at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. As Renault team principal, he ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to crash on purpose to fix the race result and allow teammate Fernando Alonso to win. The ban was later overturned in court.
His Benetton team in the 1990s also faced numerous cheating allegations surrounding the illegal use of traction control.
Now that the puppet master has emerged from the shadows, Alpine must own the fact that this is the face of their organisation.
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