Alpine leadership overhaul: Flavio Briatore replaces Oliver Oakes as team boss. Flavio Briatore becomes Alpine F1 Team Principal after Oliver Oakes resigns.

Oliver Oakes’ stint at Alpine lasted only a few months, as he has decided to resign from the role of Team Principal with immediate effect. He will be replaced by Flavio Briatore, who will take on the Team Principal role while also maintaining his position as Executive Advisor, a role he has held since last June.

Oliver Oakes’ adventure at Alpine lasted less than a year. The Enstone-based team announced on Tuesday evening that the Team Principal had chosen to step down with immediate effect, bringing his (brief) tenure with the French team to an end.

Oakes was appointed in July last year to replace former Team Principal Bruno Famin, who had stepped down to focus on other responsibilities within the Renault Group in Viry-Chatillon. Oliver Oakes, who came from a background with Hitech in junior categories, was brought in shortly after Flavio Briatore’s return to Enstone in June as Executive Advisor.

But after just six races into the 2025 season, Oakes has submitted his resignation, as announced by the team. Flavio Briatore will now take over his duties in addition to his existing role, effectively assuming full control of the team. This marks a return for Flavio Briatore to the leadership of a team he previously managed under the Benetton and Renault names in the 1990s and 2000s.

“The Alpine team announces that Oliver Oakes has tendered his resignation from the role of Team Principal,” reads the statement issued by the team on Tuesday evening.

“The team has accepted his resignation with immediate effect. Starting today, Flavio Briatore will continue in his role as Executive Advisor and will also take on the duties previously held by Oliver Oakes.”

“The team would like to thank Oliver for the work he has done since joining last summer and for his contribution to bringing the team to sixth place in the 2024 Constructors’ Championship. The team will not issue further comments.”

During Oliver Oakes’ leadership, Alpine made some progress after a difficult start to the 2024 season, during which the car was overweight. However, the team has failed to continue the upward trajectory hinted at during the final part of last season, when it occasionally emerged as the most competitive midfield car.

According to some rumors, Alpine may replace rookie Jack Doohan with reserve driver Franco Colapinto as early as the next Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, where he would partner Pierre Gasly.