Bruno Famin will probably no longer be Alpine team principal after the summer break: Flavio Briatore brings in 36-year-old Oliver Oakes from Formula 2
Alpine is set for another shake-up of its Formula 1 team as the head of Formula 2 and Formula 3 racing team Hitech, Oliver Oakes, is expected to become the new team principal. The French works team, which is in a state of flux under new Formula 1 consultant Flavio Briatore, appears to be leaving no stone unturned in its bid to return to the top
And just days after it was announced that the switch to Mercedes customer engines from 2026 is all but a done deal (and could even take place as early as 2025), which would see them move away from their own Renault factory power units, it is now revealed that a change in management is also on the cards.
Sources have revealed that current team principal Bruno Famin, who has been in charge of the team since taking the helm following the departure of his predecessor Otmar Szafnauer at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, will soon be stepping down from the role.
The Frenchman came to Enstone from his previous role at the manufacturer’s engine factory in Viry-Chatillon. Staff there were informed this week that a review is underway to plan a future for the facility should the Formula 1 project be discontinued.
Famin had originally become team principal on a temporary basis and never intended to take on the role of team principal on a permanent basis. However, due to a lack of obvious alternatives, he remained in the position. However, with Briatore now pushing to put a long-term plan in place, it is thought that now is a good opportunity for a change – possibly during the summer break.
Oakes would be the youngest team principal in the paddock
High-ranking sources say that Oakes, who has made a name for himself as team principal of the successful Hitech F3 and F2 teams, is the favorite for the role. He is a former world karting champion who competed in junior categories before setting up his own karting team in 2011. He then expanded his single-seater activities when he joined the Hitech team in 2015. At just 36 years old, he could become the youngest team principal in the paddock.
Hitech currently races in the Formula 2, Formula 3, GB3, British Formula 4 and Formula 4 UAE classes. In 2023, the team registered its interest in entering Formula 1 as part of the new team tender, but the application did not make it to the final round.
Alpine has declined to comment on the matter, but Famin himself will speak at an official FIA press conference at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday.
