F1: Oliver Oakes leaves Alpine, replaced by Flavio Briatore. Often, random events lead to far-fetched speculations. Recently, there’s been persistent talk about the hypothetical instability of Christian Horner at the helm of Red Bull. To fully understand the context, it’s necessary to recall the significant role of the English manager within the energy drink giant’s commitment to the top tier.
Christian Horner wavers at Red Bull
Christian, besides being omnipresent on the Austrian team’s pit wall, is not just the team principal of the Milton Keynes squad but also the CEO of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Powertrains, and Red Bull Advanced Technology. The storm raised by the internal investigation that saw him in the dock on the eve of last season did not diminish his power in the slightest.
At his most vulnerable moment, he secured the trust of the Thai side of the parent company. Thinking he could be dismissed after a difficult yet predictable start to the season is probably an exaggeration, unless there’s an industrial plan on the horizon that involves the acquisition of the Red Bull team by an entity interested in entering Formula One.
Something very similar to what was happening two years ago when the Red Bull–Porsche deal was practically a done deal. On that occasion, the English management strongly opposed the acquisition of the team under the guise of a technological partnership. Only in the event of a potential withdrawal of Red Bull from Formula One could Horner’s top positions be called into question.
Alpine, Oakes: the meaning of resignations in F1
The introduction of this piece is closely linked to the news that came in late yesterday afternoon when the Alpine team announced the resignation of the young team principal, Oliver Oakes. A bolt from the blue, despite the French team not having started the season in an exciting way. That said, it’s important to clarify that the term “resignation” in Formula One lends itself to various interpretations.
It can happen that a manager decides to resign due to irreconcilable differences with the ownership and/or board of directors. In other circumstances, resignations are induced dismissals, so as not to tarnish the professional resume of the resource removed from their position. Essentially, what happened to Mattia Binotto at the end of the 2022 season.
In Oakes’s case, it’s complex to understand which of the two scenarios his resignation falls into. The end of last season was very positive for the French team, thanks mainly to the updates on the A524 that were initially conceived for the current season’s car. It was foreseeable that 2025 would be a season of staff consolidation and transition.
However, at the same time, due to the switch to Mercedes engines effectively closing Renault’s Viry-Châtillon engine department and concurrently the regulatory revolution, it’s quite difficult to hypothesize that Oakes ended his collaboration with Alpine due to the replacement of Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto. The promotion of the Argentine to a full-time seat was a done deal since his signing.
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