Oliver Oakes has resigned as Alpine F1 team principal, a move that comes shortly after his brother William Oakes was arrested and charged with a financial crime. The decision was announced on Tuesday, just before the team confirmed a driver change, replacing Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto.
William Oakes, a director at junior team Hitech Grand Prix, was arrested on May 1 at Silverstone Park and charged the following day with “transferring criminal property,” according to the Metropolitan Police. Authorities said the 31-year-old was found carrying a large amount of cash. He was remanded in custody after appearing before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on May 3.
Oliver Oakes is not accused of any wrongdoing and has no known connection to the charges. He had joined Alpine from Hitech in 2024 and served less than a year in the team principal role. According to The Telegraph, Oakes travelled to Dubai from the Miami Grand Prix last weekend, and his current whereabouts remain unclear.
In a joint statement released Wednesday, Oakes described his departure as a personal decision. “It’s been a privilege to lead everyone at Enstone, what a team, what a place,” he said. “Flavio [Briatore] has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role.”
Briatore, who now assumes Oakes’ responsibilities, added: “We respect Oli’s request to resign and have therefore accepted his resignation. The reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.”
The Independent reports that in 2022, Oakes took full ownership of Hitech Grand Prix from Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, forming Hitech Global Holdings Ltd shortly after Mazepin was sanctioned by the UK and EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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