Why Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes turned down previous offers in F1

In July 2024, Oakes was announced as the new team principal of Alpine. For those who only follow Formula 1, his name might be unfamiliar, but within the motorsport world, Oakes had been a known figure for much longer.

Oakes was once a strong racer himself. The Brit even made it to the Red Bull Junior Team, but he never had a breakthrough in open-wheel racing. He then shifted his focus to mentoring talent. First in karting, and later in open-wheel racing as the owner of Hitech Racing. His eye for talent and his work guiding young drivers caught the attention of F1 teams.

Why Oakes Embraced the Opportunity at Alpine

“I didn’t really have a plan,” Oakes begins when asked by GPblog why he is the team principal of Alpine. “People always expect me to say, ‘this was always my dream,’ but I had my racing career. I then had my other side of the fence as a, dare I say, a team owner.  A bit of entrepreneur background of starting a team, running that, and then obviously growing that into a team across different series and championships.”

“So the balance of sort of wanting to win, but building a business. And then obviously the opportunities in F1 the last couple of years that were put on the table. I think some that came earlier, the timing wasn't right, the fit. When this one came up, it was good timing for me. Happy wife, happy life. A little bit of that.”

“And Enstone is also a great team. Everything Luca (de Meo) and Flavio (Briatore) presented, we were on the same page. That’s the most important thing when you lead an F1 team.  You can maybe jump at the first thing that comes up. But you also need to know if the chemistry is there, and I think, hopefully time will tell.”

After his racing career, Oakes went straight into management. First with his karting team, then in open-wheel racing. The management aspect is still something that attracts him in his role at Alpine. Management runs in Oakes’ blood. His father was the founder of Eurotek Motorsport and the race series Formula Renault and British F3.

What Oakes Enjoys About Management in F1

“It's a horrible bit. It's the bit nobody likes dealing with people,” Oakes laughs. “No, I’m joking. I don’t think there’s really anything that stands out for me. Of course, I love racing. I love being on the track, in the factory, and F1 is a bit different. ,you're not just extracting performance from cars that you in effect have to run within championships. That’s what’s brilliant about F1. You design, manufacture, and develop the car, and that’s also fun to do.”

Oakes is one of the team principals who has also raced in the past. The comparison with Christian Horner is quickly made, especially at a time when more and more former engineers or strategists, such as James Vowles, Andrea Stella, and Ayao Komatsu, are rising as the new team principals.

A Former Racer as Team Principal in Formula 1

“I think I'm slightly fortunate to have had my own team and to have grown that. The era of F3 I was in in 2016 and ’17, where it was the last series in the world where you could develop a race car, have a wind tunnel program. There were a lot of similarities there to F1 on a much smaller scale.”

“I’ve never claimed to be technical or (good at) engineering. I think you need to have a good sense for people, trust them, and support them. You also need a ‘bullshit filter.’”

“ I think that experience I've had in, I dare say, in the junior ladder is good because it's very varied. You've dealt with drivers, you've dealt with the unsexy bits of the business, with HR, legal and finance. And today F1 isn't just about the race car, everything goes into it.”

“Everyone who leads a team is different. I think the backgrounds of team principals in F1 are very varied. You've got some who've got skin in the game owning a team or shares in a team. You've got some who are an ex-engineer who've risen to the top.  For me, I don't see any particular one as being stronger or weaker. It’s more about the people around you, depending on your own skill, who you surround yourself with. I’ve always believed in working with good people and letting them get on with it.”

Want to Read More About Oliver Oakes?

GPblog also spoke with Oliver Oakes about who is actually in charge at Alpine—him or Flavio Briatore. Oakes also discussed his vision for Alpine and one crucial decision he has to make in 2025. Stay tuned for more from Oliver Oakes on GPblog. He also spoke about what he encountered during his first months at Alpine and how he’s still the owner of Hitech. You’ll find all that and more soon on GPblog.com!