Alpine confirm Oakes to replace Famin, becoming F1’s youngest team principal · RaceFans

Alpine has confirmed Oliver Oakes will take over from Bruno Famin in charge of its Formula 1 team at the end of August.

Oakes, 36, will become the youngest current principal of a Formula 1 team. The former racing driver currently runs Hitech, which he founded in 2015, and now competes in Formula 2, Formula 3, GB3 and British Formula 4.

He will report to Renault CEO Luca de Meo. “It is a pleasure to welcome Oli to the team and for him to become one of the youngest team principals that this sport has ever seen,” he said.

“This team is being built for future success and this is highlighted by Oli’s appointment in a senior role.”

Alpine has endured a difficult start to the 2024 season and lies eighth in the championship. Bruno Famin, who took over as team principal a year ago, confirmed last week he is standing down as the team considers abandoning plans to build its own power unit for 2026.

Oakes said he is “extremely grateful to Luca de Meo and Flavio Briatore for this opportunity to lead BWT Alpine F1 Team back to competitiveness. The team has talented people and excellent resources at its core, and I am confident that we can accomplish a great deal together during the remainder of this season and the longer term. I look forward to getting started after the summer break.”

Oakes won the World Karting Championship in 2005 and joined Red Bull’s young driver programme the following year. He ended his driving career in 2009 after competing in Formula Renault Eurocup and British Formula 3, then went into driver coaching.

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That led Oakes to set up his own junior single-seater team in 2015 under the name Hitech. The following year his team took George Russell to third place in the European Formula 3 championship, behind the dominant Prema cars of Lance Stroll and Maximilian Guenther.

Oakes also ran a car for Nikita Mazepin, whose father Dmitri’s company Uralkali invested in the team. Mazepin returned to Hitech when the team entered Formula 2 in 2020, the year before he graduated to F1. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to sanctions being imposed on the Mazepins and Hitech terminated its Uralkali deal.

Other drivers to have raced for Hitech include Liam Lawson, who made his F1 debut last year, plus IndyCar champion Alex Palou and his rivals Marcus Armstrong and Rinus VeeKay. Among their current drivers is former Mercedes junior Paul Aron, who is in contention for the F2 title.

In 2022 Oakes attracted criticism when he refused to drop Juri Vips from his F2 driver roster after he used a racial slur. Vips’ language cost him his pace on Red Bull’s junior team and F2 issued a statement saying Oakes’ decision to keep him in the series was “not one we would have taken”.

Last year Hitech responded to the FIA’s request for applications to join the Formula 1 grid after Oakes attracted investment from one of the wealthiest people in Kazakhstan. He sold a 25% stake in the company to Kazakhstani businessman Vladimir Kim. However the FIA turned down Hitech’s application, approving Andretti instead, though Formula One Management has refused to grant them a place on the grid.

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