Oliver Oakes, the new director of the Alpine team since this summer, spoke about his relationship with Flavio Briatore, but also about the Enstone factory, being satisfied to benefit from a team now “stable” in England.
Instability is precisely what has characterized the French team in recent months, and even in recent years. Since the start of the Alpine project in 2021, the management of the team has changed several times.
The Enstone-based team’s situation has probably reached its lowest point this year, with catastrophic results on track and numerous turmoil off track.
The general director of the Renault Group, Luca de Meo, then banged his fist on the table, notably with the return of Flavio Briatore as executive advisor and with the decision to abandon the in-house engine.
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Enstone, le “baby” de Briatore
It was then that Oliver Oakes took over the reins of Alpine F1 thanks in particular to Briatore. The Briton spoke about his working relationship with the 74-year-old Italian.
“It’s great to work with him, to have ideas at his disposal,” Oakes said in an interview with the official F1 website, F1.com. “F1 has changed, but the basic principles are the same. I think he’s very good at reminding me of that. When you’re new, you can go too far in the other direction, so it’s helpful.”
“He is very emotionally invested in Enstone. It’s his baby as a team, and he genuinely wants to see the place get some of its mojo back. It’s great to be surrounded. It’s contagious because he loves it.”
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Briatore and Oakes on the same wavelength
Oliver Oakes was also pleased with the stability now present at the Enstone factory, while claiming to be fully aligned with Flavio Briatore on the direction to take.
“What’s different now, in my role running an F1 team, is that there are 1,000 people”added the director of the Alpine F1 team. “You can’t necessarily make them all happy all the time – and that’s interesting, I realize – but I think the main thing about the start here at Enstone is that the team is now stable.”
“It has two people running it who are very aligned with the direction we want to take. I already see good things in all of this.”
“People are happy that we’re here, we’re at the factory, we’re really trying to start a comeback over the next few years.”
“Everything is based on results. [Si] we perform during [des prochaines] races and we get results, people [au sein de l’organisation] will naturally feel a little better.”
“Everything goes hand in hand. There’s a lot of affection for what Enstone is, but the bottom line is that people come to work because they want to be part of a successful organization.”
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