Who is Oliver Oakes? From karting champion to fleeting F1 team principal

Oliver Oakes will be remembered as one of the Formula 1 team principals with the shortest tenure, the Briton being at the helm of Alpine for some nine months before handing in his resignation.

From August 2024 to May 2025, Oakes was also one of the youngest team bosses in F1 history before his sudden exit from Alpine due to personal reasons.

Oakes was hired by Alpine at the age of 36, making him the second youngest team principal behind Christian Horner, who got the role at Red Bull when he was 31.

But how did Oakes reach F1?

Early life and karting stardom

Oakes was born in Norfolk, England, into a family with deep motor sport roots. His father Billy had founded the Eurotek Motorsport team, which competed in Formula Renault and British Formula 3.

Oliver Oakes started competing at an early age: he was four years old when he took on karting.

By the age of 12, he had already won two British Open Karting Championships.

In 2005, when he was 17, Oakes won the FIA World Karting Championship in Braga, Portugal. In that race, Oakes beat the likes of future F1 drivers Valtteri Bottas and Jules Bianchi, and GT/DTM drivers like Edoardo Mortara and Miguel Molina.

Car racing

Following his success in karting, Oakes took the step up to car racing in 2006, joining Formula BMW UK with Carlin Motorsport. The British driver won on his debut race and went on to finish sixth in the championship.

The following year, Oakes moved up to Formula Renault Eurocup with Motopark, but he didn’t enjoy a great season and finished 12th in the standings of a series that included drivers like Brendon Hartley, Jaime Alguersuari and Oliver Turvey.

In 2008, Oakes joined his father’s team Eurotek Motorsport to compete in British Formula 3 Championship, but he didn’t take part in all the races and wound up 19th with just one point scored.

He joined Carlin for the 2009 season, but only competed in two rounds.

In 2010, Oakes raced for Atech Grand Prix in the newly created GP3 Series, but he failed to score a point all year and quickly began to focus on team management instead of driving.

Team management roles

Oakes founded a karting team, Team Oakes Racing, in 2011, entering several championships across Europe. Former drivers for the team include Nikita Mazepin, Callum Ilott and Marcus Armstrong.

Four years later, Oakes revived the Hitech name and launched the team into the European Formula 3 Championship.

Hitech Racing was created in 2002 by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle, and it competed under that name mainly in Formula 3 championships. The team also agreed to join forces with Piquet Sports in 2004, but the partnership ended before the season started.

Oakes took over the name to revive it as Hitech GP in 2015, making appearances in the European Formula 3 Championship before joining forces with ART Grand Prix for a full campaign in the FIA F3 European Championship.

Under his leadership, Hitech quickly became a powerhouse in junior single-seater racing, expanding into several series, including Formula 2, where the team still competes.

With Oakes as team boss, Hitech played a pivotal role in the careers of numerous drivers who have gone on to F1, including George Russell, Jack Doohan, and Liam Lawson.

Formula 1 role and departure

In August of 2024, Oakes was appointed team principal of the Alpine F1 team, succeeding Bruno Famin, taking the helm of a team seeking a return to the top of the field.

Oakes reported directly to Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo and was responsible for all aspects of the F1 operation.

Oakes joined Alpine two months after Flavio Briatore had returned to Enstone as an executive advisor.

“Oli is highly talented with a great record of leadership and success in racing,” said Briatore in 2024 when announcing Oakes’ arrival. “His move into this role is a great example of the strength and belief we have in our team and by young, upcoming people, and I’m excited to work closely with him with a joint focus on moving up the grid and winning races.”

Oakes’ arrival was seen as a bold move, bringing fresh leadership and a proven track record of developing talent and building successful teams.

However, after just nine months in the role, Oakes resigned in May 2025, citing personal reasons for his decision.