Alpine’s Formula 1 team will undergo a leadership change as a karting world champion and Red Bull junior, Oliver Oakes, steps in to replace Bruno Famin. This move comes as the French manufacturer entry faces ongoing challenges.
Oakes’ appointment as part of the F1 management team marks his first successful venture into this role. It comes nearly a year after his Hitech GP junior single-seater team, which he led, fell short in its attempt to join the F1 grid.
Prior to his time at Hitech, Oakes, now 36, was a promising racing driver whose career quickly faded away. He achieved the remarkable feat of winning the 2005 karting world title, competing against notable names such as Jules Bianchi, Valtteri Bottas, Edo Mortara, and Miguel Molina, the reigning Le Mans 24 Hours champion.
However, Oakes struggled to replicate his karting success in car racing. Despite being part of the Red Bull Junior Team program, which was still in its early stages, his achievements were limited. Oakes managed to win a race in Formula BMW UK but struggled to make a significant impact when he moved up to the two-litre Formula Renault category.
Helmut Marko, the architect of the Red Bull Junior Team, used Oakes as an example of a driver who excelled in karting but failed to replicate that success in car racing. Nevertheless, Oakes maintained a strong relationship with Marko, as evidenced by Red Bull entrusting several of its junior drivers to Oakes’ team in subsequent years.
After reaching the end of his junior single-seater career in GP3, where he failed to score points in the inaugural season in 2010, Oakes transitioned into team management. He initially focused on the karting scene before establishing Hitech GP in 2015. The team served as a successor to the original Hitech team, which was founded over a decade prior. Hitech GP initially competed in Formula 3 in Europe before expanding into Formula 2 and other racing categories.
While Hitech GP has achieved race victories in Formula 2 with drivers like Luca Ghiotto, Nikita Mazepin, Liam Lawson, Juri Vips, and Jak Crawford, it has yet to secure a championship title. The team has also been successful in Formula 4, claiming a major title in the British F4 series with McLaren junior Alex Dunne in 2022. Hitech GP is on track to secure another championship win this season. Additionally, the team has triumphed in regional Asian championships.
Aside from his involvement in the F1 bid, Oakes is most notably associated with the Mazepin family. Dmitry Mazepin’s Uralkali has been a significant sponsor of the Hitech outfit, and Nikita Mazepin has benefited from Oakes’ guidance throughout his career. In 2021, Mazepin Sr. referred to Oakes as his son’s “friend, associate, colleague, and manager.” This partnership unfolded during Mazepin’s sole season in F1 with Haas.
