Oliver Oakes has resigned as team principal of the Alpine F1 team following the arrest of his brother in England.
The surprising departure came shortly after the Miami Grand Prix weekend and has sparked speculation about the intersection of personal and professional matters in the Formula 1 world.
Brother Arrested with Large Sum of Cash
According to Motorsport Week, Oakes’ sudden resignation is linked to the arrest of his younger brother, William Oakes, on Thursday, May 1, near Silverstone Park.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated that William Oakes, 31, from Rugby, was stopped with a large sum of cash and subsequently charged with “transfer of criminal property.”
He appeared in court in Northampton on May 3 and was remanded in custody.
At the time, Oliver Oakes was in Miami overseeing his team during the race weekend. Shortly after, he flew to Dubai and submitted his resignation.
Oakes’ resignation immediately fueled rumors of internal tensions between him and Alpine’s external advisor, Flavio Briatore.
However, Briatore himself denied any conflict, explaining that the decision was entirely “personal.”
He is now temporarily filling the role of team principal while the team searches for a permanent solution.
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Past Ties with the Mazepin Family Make Headlines
The arrest has also brought old connections to light.
William Oakes is listed as a director at Hitech Grand Prix, the team his brother Oliver restarted in 2015 and which has served as a stepping stone for several young drivers, including Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
The team had previously been partially owned by Russian businessman Dmitry Mazepin, father of former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin.
In 2022, Oakes formally took over ownership of Hitech from Mazepin’s company, Bergton Management, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Oliver Oakes has previously stated that the ownership change was planned long before the invasion and was a natural part of Hitech’s strategy.
He referred to Mazepin as “a friend” and confirmed that they had most recently greeted each other in Bahrain during the winter tests.
Oakes has not yet publicly commented on his resignation.
With the arrest and renewed focus on the ties to the Mazepin family, the case has become another example of how off-track drama can quickly shake Formula 1 teams to their core.
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Source: Motorsport Week
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