Formula 1 team Alpine hires 36-year-old Oliver Oakes as team principal to lead a turnaround
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon of France steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix race at the Hungaroring racetrack, in Mogyorod, Hungary, Friday, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
ENSTONE, England (AP) — Alpine named 36-year-old Oliver Oakes as its team principal on Wednesday as he aims to lead the team “back to competitiveness” in Formula 1.
Alpine said Oakes, who is British, would be the second-youngest team principal in F1 history. He brings experience from founding Hitech Grand Prix, a team which has cars in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
Alpine is third-to-last in the constructors’ standings heading into F1’s summer break and announced last week it was parting company with team principal Bruno Famin.
The Renault-owned team is a long way from the ambition it announced in 2021 of a “100-race plan” to be a regular podium contender by the end of 2024. Two key technical staff left after one race of the 2024 season when the car was shown to be clearly uncompetitive. The Monaco Grand Prix was another low point as drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other.
The shakeup has also included the return of 74-year-old Flavio Briatore, who ran the team in its previous guises of Benetton and Renault in the 1990s and 2000s, in an advisory role.
Briatore’s previous time in charge included titles for Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso but he left F1 after it was found he ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash his car to help Alonso win the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008.
“I am extremely grateful to (Renault Group CEO) Luca de Meo and Flavio Briatore for this opportunity to lead BWT Alpine F1 Team back to competitiveness,” Oakes said in a team statement.
“The team has talented people and excellent resources at its core, and I am confident that we can accomplish a great deal together during the remainder of this season and the longer term. I look forward to getting started after the summer break.”
Oakes takes over a team which has yet to name a driver to partner Gasly for 2025 when Ocon leaves for Haas. It’s also considering dropping its in-house Renault engines from 2026 and buying engines from elsewhere.
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