Written by Maria Fashchevskaya
Oliver Oakes will be the new Team Principal of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, as the team confirmed it in a statement on Wednesday. He will fill the role of the departing Bruno Famin. But who is Oliver Oakes?
Oliver Oakes has been confirmed to be the new Team Principal of the BWT Alpine Formula One Team. Thus, he will already work alongside French drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon for the second half of the 2024 season. As reported by the team, 36-year-old Briton will report to Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo after the summer break.
Although Oliver Oakes is a known figure in motorsport, he may be new to Formula One fans. Let's dive deeper into, who the Brit is and how his journey has led him to be the new Alpine F1 team boss.
Early career and motorsport origins
Oliver Oakes was born in 1988 in Norfolk, England. His father is Billy Oakes – founder of former Formula Renault and British Formula 3 team "Eurotek Motorsport". Since his childhood, Oakes has been in contact with motorsport and began karting at the age of four.
At twelve years old, he was crowned the two-time British Champion in karting, moreover, winning the Karting World Championship at 17 years of age in 2005. Therefore, he then became a part of the newly-organised Red Bull Young Driver Programme and drove alongside the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Sébastien Buemi and Brendan Hartley.
Debut in single-seater competitions
Oakes debuted in single-seaters in 2006 in Formula BMW with Carlin Motorsport. There he had massive success from the start, gaining a pole and a victory in his first race. Overall, he claimed three more podiums and finished in sixth place overall in the championship.
A year later, the Brit joined Motopark for the 2007 Formula Renault Eurocup, finishing in 12th. After he competed for his father's team – Eurotek Motorsport – in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2008.
He returned to Carlin Motorsport in 2009 but left after only two rounds, taking up a role as a test driver for the rest of the year. He raced in the GP3 Series for Atech CRS in 2010. After that, he retired from being an active racing driver but maintained a strong relation to the sport, as he was involved with various roles within different teams.
Founding racing teams
Oliver Oakes founded an own karting team and management service in 2011 – "Team Oakes Racing", competing in WSK Championship events, the German DKM Series, and CIK-FIA World and European Championships. Former drivers of the team have included Marcus Armstrong (currently in Indycar), Nikita Mazepin and Callum Ilott (currently in Indycar and WEC).
The Brit is not an unknown figure in the Formula world, too. In 2015, he co-formed Hitech Grand Prix (now Hitech Pulse-Eight) with David Hayle. It is a Motorsport team that has been competing at the front of single-seaters since its founding, in international and national championships.
Initially, the team has been competing in the European Formula 3 Championship, but since then has expanded into other junior categories. Currently, Hitech competes in the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 World Championships, the GB3 Championship, the British F4 and the Formula 4 UAE Championships.
Hitech joined the Formula 3 World Championship in 2019, gaining their best team standing so far in the same year. They reached second place with 223 points. They have started to race in Formula 2 World Championship in 2020, achieving theirs highest team standing in that championship with a fourth place in their debut year, with 270 overall points.
With Hitech, Oliver Oakes has achieved race victories in every category the team has started in. Moreover, it has been a progress point for the careers of some prominent drivers like Liam Lawson, Jack Doohan, George Russell, Paul Aron and others.
Oakes is leaving Hitech in a strong position, as the team is currently fourth in the 2024 Formula 2 Standings, with driver Paul Aron third in the Drivers' Championship. In Formula 3 Hitech is fifth as a team, and Williams Driver Academy member Luke Browning is third in the Drivers' Championship Standings, one final round before the end of the competition.
Now he is onto a new challenge. Alpine wants to turn around their 2024 season, as Oakes is set to help with that. On his appointment to be the Team Principal, Oakes said to be confident to start his new role in late August:
"I am 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."
As Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo has welcomed Oakes as Team Principal, he said: "We look forward to harnessing his enthusiasm, energy, and passion for racing and realising that mindset across the entire team."
The Brit is set to be the second youngest F1 team boss in the sport's history. Oakes will lead the team into the remainder of the 2024 season beyond. Nevertheless, he will be following Bruno Famin, who has managed the French team in a difficult time, as the team has struggled throughout the first half of this F1 season.
Earlier at the Belgian Grand Prix, Alpine confirmed that Bruno Famin is departing his role as Team Principal of the French team to focus on other Motorsport activities of the Renault Group at Viry-Chatillon. Famin has been in charge of the team since the departure of previous team boss Otmar Szafnauer a year ago.
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