Oliver Oakes has revealed how the hierarchy works at Alpine F1, since the return of Flavio Briatore and since his arrival. The team director confirms that Briatore is the sole master on board and reports directly to Luca de Meo.
“Yes, Flavio is above everyone” Oakes told Planet F1. “He knows the business, got the t-shirt and I think it’s very clear that there is an alignment between me, Flavio and Luca. The three of us are in the same boat. Our structure is not no different than a few other teams on the grid.”
“The three of us are here, you have Luca [de Meo] as CEO of the group you have Flavio [Briatore]as executive advisor, and me as team director. I don’t think titles mean much. What matters is whether all three of you are aligned in the direction you’re going.”
“There’s no organizational chart, there’s no power play, it’s really transparent and I think that’s probably something that was missing before. From my side, I’m the man in the field, whether at the factory or on the circuit.”
“But I think you can see that Flavio is at most of the races. He is also at Enstone a few days a week. I think if you look at the successful F1 teams over the years you will see that there was very strong leadership and that they were really aligned.”
When asked about Briatore’s role as a mentor, Oakes admits that this is somewhat the case: “Yes, he could say that! Sometimes he pulls my ear! No, I’m joking. He’s been on this team twice and he’s been running it twice. I think this experience, this The passion he has is something contagious.”
“I think F1 has changed a lot over the years, but the basic principles remain the same. You need great people, you need to produce a good car and you need to make sure, in everything you do, that “The first thing is to race and everything else is secondary.”
“I think having him on my side helps me support this, because it’s a big job – there are about 900 people and 24 races. It’s not a job for one person. only man and we also have David [Sanchez] as technical director, who arrived just before me. We have announced the appointment of Dave Greenwood as Race Director.”
“I think it’s not just me, Flavio and Luca at the top. There are two or three below me, who are also part of this leadership group. That’s exactly what’s needed to have a strong team and for everyone to work together.”
Asked about the similarities between the management within Alpine and within Red Bull, where Helmut Marko and Christian Horner share leadership, Oakes recognizes that there are common points but assures that the two teams operate differently.
“I think a lot of people always want to talk about the similarities between me and Christian, Helmut and Flavio. Their organization has been very successful at Red Bull. There are probably similarities, but we are also different – what works somewhere doesn’t work. doesn’t always work elsewhere.”
“For my part, it’s very simple: the three of us work together and the most important thing is whether the chemistry between us works. Do we all get along? And we do. I feel really lucky because at the end of the day I’m not alone and I think that’s how it is in F1 now.”
“It’s complex, there’s politics, there’s people to manage, there’s a car to develop and I really think that’s something that’s actually a real strength of the team probably from the middle of the season until today and people get energy from it.”
