Flavio Briatore not Alpine F1 team principal: role goes to someone else. After Oliver Oakes' departure, it seemed Flavio Briatore would take over as Alpine’s Team Principal.

The surprise exit of Oliver Oakes left the Team Principal position at Alpine vacant, with Flavio Briatore appearing ready to step in at least formally. However, the Italian manager cannot hold the role because he lacks the necessary documentation.

A new detail about the Team Principal role emerges
Flavio Briatore is not an official employee of the team and does not hold the FIA-required license. For this reason, the new Team Principal of the French team will be Dave Greenwood, Alpine’s current Racing Director. Most likely, this will be a purely formal appointment, while Flavio Briatore will effectively take the position left vacant by Oliver Oakes.

The former Team Principal resigned just days before the Imola weekend. Initially, it was thought internal conflicts might have caused the departure since it came only hours after the announcement of a lineup change. Starting this weekend, Franco Colapinto will join Pierre Gasly at Alpine. Jack Doohan will return as reserve driver at least until Silverstone. Only at the British Grand Prix will Flavio Briatore decide who will be the team’s second driver for the rest of the season. Franco Colapinto will have five races to prove he deserves the seat that until now belonged to the Australian driver.

Regarding the Team Principal’s departure, it seems the recent arrest of Oliver’s brother William—who was the team director of Hitech GP, a team owned by the Oakes family—may be the reason. This would have pushed Oliver to leave the role he earned in August 2024 and that had brought him considerable satisfaction.

In the past year and a half, the French team has managed to close part of the gap with rivals, achieving several positive results.