Flavio Briatore has responded to the rumours after the surprising resignation of Alpine Team Principal Oli Oakes as “completely false.”
Oakes resigned from the Enstone-based team on Tuesday, just before the news that the Argentine Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan.
Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore will take on Oakes’ duties as the Team Principal with immediate effect before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Alpine’s statement stated “team will not be making any further comment“.
The Statement
However, in a social media post, Briatore revealed more details behind Oakes’ departure:
“A lot has been said in the past 24 hours, incorrectly associating the decision of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement or that we shared different views.
“This is completely false and far from the truth. Me and Oli have a very good relationship and had long-term ambitions to drive this team forward together.
“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.”
Briatore continued further:
“I will continue to be more and more involved with the team, together with the strong management we already have in place. We will work hard on improving our position this season and preparing for 2026.”
Alpine are currently 9th in the team standings at this current point in the F1 Season, with Pierre Gasly scoring all 7 points for his team, while Jack Doohan has scored zero, which has led to a switch with Colapinto.
Message from Oli to the team
Along with Briatores’ message, on the next slide, it also includes a message from Oli Oakes for the Alpine team.
Oakes said in the post:
“It’s been a privilege to lead everyone at Enstone, what a team, what a place. It is a personal decision for me to step down.
“Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role, as well as giving me the opportunity. Everyone is in place for 2026 and where this dream deserves to be!
“I believe in Enstone.”
Potential Tensions
According to sources from Planetf1.com, speculation arose that Oakes and Briatore were divided on how to run the Enstone team. However, both statements contradict this theory.
Jack Doohan had previous ties to Oakes through the relaunched Hitech GP junior team in the Formula 3 Asian Championship, having driven for the team in 2019. Meanwhile, Briatore showed interest in the Argentine Colapinto after a whirlwind spell with Williams in 2024, scoring 5 points after taking over Logan Sargent’s seat.
