Like all teams, Alpine F1 will be faced with a major dilemma: should we quickly sacrifice the 2025 season, to better prepare for the 2026 season, that of the big regulatory change?
The dilemma is perhaps even more acute at Alpine F1, which will also have to manage the transition to a new engine: the Mercedes power unit.
For Planet F1, Oliver Oakes, the team principal, delivered what he calls “This Vision” in Enstone. And this is clear: do not immediately sacrifice 2025.
“My vision? I think it's already there. I want a clear objective: “We are here to race.” »
“We are not going to accept finding ourselves at the back of the grid. We are in the middle of the grid and finally at the front of the grid – but that doesn't happen overnight, not in six months, not in twelve months. It takes a little time, and I also think you have to stack everything step by step. Obviously, the first step was to arrive and support the team, give it stability and leadership. »
“You have to decide, as a team principal, to put 2025 aside and focus only on 2026 and 2027.”
“But I don't think anyone does that in F1 because everyone wants to race, everyone pushes. »
The other limit placed on Enstone and the other teams, Oakes explains, is not only time: it is also the budget!
“There are obviously strategic choices to be made – whether it's on the driver line-up, whether it's the engine decision – and then, of course, we're looking at 2025, which will probably be one of the years or one of the busiest winters F1 has ever known. »
“There are a lot of improvements you would like to make, but you are a little limited by the budget cap and the need to focus on 2026.”
So Oakes is not afraid that certain teams, like Williams F1 for example, will be better prepared than Alpine F1 in 2026 (Williams has already announced that 2026 would be THE priority)?
“When I read that recently, I said to myself: well, it’s because some teams already know that they can’t find the performance they want for 2025.”
“For our part, we have to balance our resources, but we are not going to abandon an entire season. »
“Ultimately, I think we showed good performance in 2024, and I hope we can do the same this year while keeping an eye on 2026.”
-A direct approach to management for Alpine F1…
In 2026, Alpine will be able to focus on chassis development, without having to develop a power unit.
This decision was made not by Oakes, but by Flavio Briatore, Luca de Meo's special advisor and Oakes' superior.
Racing, not politics: that is now Oakes' goal. With a management style that doesn't indulge in embellishments, even if it means cutting to the chase. An assumed style.
“I was quite direct when I arrived, and with Flavio, together, we are here to race. That's the first thing. »
“For me, everything else is secondary, and I think when you focus on that and you focus on the basics, then you can start to be inventive about all these other aspects. »
“People have started to see in recent months that we are not here to talk indiscriminately. We just want to focus on ourselves. »
The end of last season was, however, marred by some controversies, also a consequence of this direct and even brutal management: the ousting of Ocon even before the last GP, the fear of a social plan at Viry…
“Unfortunately we scored a few own goals with some things we had to announce which created a bit of noise” retorts Oakes, who fully assumes it.
“But, at the end of the day, it’s part of F1 today. If you look at the best teams in F1, where they have found the right balance is in their priorities, and that is to focus everything on producing a fast car and then exploiting it well on track. »
“To me it may seem very simple, but it’s my number one goal right now. »
“I'm probably here as someone who gives the team a bit of confidence. I think that's the main thing. »
