INTERVIEW: Oliver Oakes on being thrown into the thick of it at Alpine

Oakes, the second youngest team principal in F1 history after Christian Horner, barely had time to introduce himself to the staff at Enstone before going 'off-grid' for a fortnight given the regulations that govern that time of the year.

Upon his return, Oakes was pitched headlong into back-to-back grands prix in the Netherlands and Italy. To say his head was spinning would be an understatement.

Throw into the mix the overhanging and thorny issue as to Alpine's future power unit supply, and a decision to be made on a second driver for next season, and you can appreciate the maelstrom into which Oakes was pitched.

Remarkably, Oakes suggested it was "maybe better" to have been parachuted in midway through a season. "Obviously it's odd, the first day of school straight after the shutdown," he said in an interview with this writer. "I was lucky that I got to come in pre-shutdown for a day, and meet everybody.

"I popped in [to the factory] a bit to know where to go and be organised, and then we were straight into it with Zandvoort and Monza, so there's good and bad.

"In some ways, when you have a winter, you probably have more time. But in other ways, coming in as I did, just straight into it, both at the factory and trackside, you get up to speed quicker in terms of knowing how everything operates, the processes, the people, just getting stuck in."

Although untried and untested in F1, Oakes is no stranger to motorsport. His junior years saw him crowned World Karting Champion in 2005, earning him a place on the Red Bull Young Driver Programme.

From such heights, a potentially glittering single-seater career failed to materialise. There was moderate success in Formula BMW UK and the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, before an ignominious end to his racing days in the GP3 Series in which he finished 28^th in the standings.

 Oakes went on to manage his own karting outfit, Team Oakes Racing, prior to forming Hitech GP which has competed in Formula 2 and Formula 3 since 2015, grooming numerous aspiring talents along the way.

Although Oakes was among the candidates to respond to the FIA's 'Expressions of Interest' process early in 2023 in an attempt to launch Hitech into F1 – and ultimately falling at the first hurdle – to find himself headhunted for Alpine's team principal role came as a major surprise.

Candidly, he replied "not really" when asked if the role was one he had always wanted. Elaborating, he added: "I had my driving career. I then founded my Hitech team, and we ran many junior drivers for F1 teams, working with them a bit on different projects, and collaborating, but I wouldn't say it was something that I set out to do or to happen, but I think life's like that."

Oakes concedes there have been "different opportunities [to have] reared their head" over the past two years. Alpine, he said, "I just felt was right.”

"Right timing in that my Hitech team was very strong, very stable. The leadership team there knows what they're doing, and the fact that Enstone is a great place. And being able to, dare I say, turn something around with the right support behind you is also important."

Oakes is under no illusion he faces "a big job" following what he declares has been "a difficult time" for the team. High-profile names have come and gone over the years under the stewardship of Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo, and Alpine has slumped to ninth in this year's constructors' championship.

In recent weeks, it opted to terminate its programme for the new-for-2026 power units, despite spending millions of euros, and the system undergoing dyno testing. Although unconfirmed, Alpine will almost certainly turn to Mercedes for a supply.

At least a decision to hire reserve Jack Doohan as team-mate to Pierre Gasly was swiftly taken following Oakes' arrival.

Despite the pressing nature of the "hot-potato topics", as he described them when he started, it was a job he was never going to say 'no' to. "It didn't take me long to decide, just simply because I do believe in Enstone, and I believe in the potential the team has, whether that's the people, the culture," said Oakes.

"But also, and it sounds arrogant saying it about yourself, [but] what you could bring to unlock all of that and hopefully push it forward as well."

At least Oakes is not ploughing a lone furrow as he has an experienced – and controversial – hand alongside him in Flavio Briatore, the mastermind behind Renault's championship successes in 2005 and 2006 but also one of F1's greatest controversies – the 2008 Crashgate scandal.

Plenty of water may have flowed under the bridge since Briatore's ignominious exit from F1 in late 2009, but eyebrows were still raised in June when he was announced as an executive advisor to Alpine.

There is a 38-year difference between Oakes and Briatore, and they come from different genres of F1, but the former recognises what the latter still brings to the party.

"He was a winner in F1, he's successful with his businesses out of F1 so you very quickly know he's somebody who's committed, who's pushing, and I wouldn't say doesn't accept a compromise, but you've got to be on it," said Oakes.

"For me, I like that. At the end of the day, day-to-day working with him is intense, but it's good because I've got someone there who thinks the same, who challenges ideas.

"He brings a lot more than people realise, purely because he's got so much vested interest in Enstone, and it's great for me because you've always got someone by your side, helping you, and I wouldn't say, fight battles, but just pushing things along with you, which I think is important.

"I've said it before, but in great sports organisations, you need all the leadership aligned and working together. Time will tell, but I think that will be a big advantage over the next one, two years together.”

It could be argued there is little pressure on Oakes and Briatore to achieve over what remains of this season, and for 2025 when the cars will effectively be a carryover given the time, focus, and resources required to come flying out of  the traps in 2026 under the new regulations.

Understandably, Oakes said he sees it "kind of a bit differently" as he and Briatore have to put foundations in place now and over next year that will stand the team in good stead for what follows.

"The short term is improving the way we currently go racing, making the current car we have better from now until the end of the year," said Oakes. 

"Everybody has been working really hard on that in the factory. Over the coming races, it would be nice to see that happen, because it's always good to bring performance. No one's unhappy with that.

"Then, when we begin in '25, the goal is to do a good launch car and be able to hopefully throttle back and move resources to '26 quite early. But again, it's wishful thinking before you start."

Returning to the 'thrown in at the deep end' scenario, he again reflects positively on his circumstances. "It definitely is fortunate to be in the team principal chair now and see all of that happening.

"First you know what's going on and why, and sometimes it does take a long time to see what's been baking for 12, 18 months and what's gone into that. If you just arrive, and you haven't been part of that, it's hard to potentially see through the weeds."

Oakes certainly has plenty of thickets to wade through at Alpine, a team that will now transition its way out of its longstanding Renault allegiance and on into a new era for the team in F1. Given its past history, it will not be easy.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.