Oli Oakes is a visibly competent man, who has great ambitions for Alpine F1, a team of which he has been Team Principal, under the leadership of Flavio Briatore, for several weeks. And this winning attitude was recently expressed, shortly after the arrival of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last weekend.
Alpine F1: ambitions are back!
While Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly had just signed a double podium, despite his joy, the person concerned said he was disappointed to have missed out on victory! It must be said that, given the number of laps completed in the lead, the gap he had gradually built up over Max Verstappen and his talent in the rain, number 31 had good reasons to hope to win, for the second time in his F1 career.
But unfortunately, the final safety car and the restart which followed proved fatal, Max Verstappen having seized the opportunity to dive when braking for the first corner, overtake the Frenchman then escape.
« I can't take credit for that! » said Oakes, with humility. “ As we know, it's a brilliant team and I haven't been here that long. I have said since my arrival that the team has been in a difficult period for a while. They've had a tough start to the season, but even before that, and I think today is a big result for them“. […]
“I think Austin, with an improvement, showed that we had a bit of pace there, and it was a bit difficult because we left empty-handed after a good qualifier. But on these last two events, it was really good to show that we had a bit of pace. We were all a little hurt after Baku, when a competitor [Williams] scored quite a few points, and it's a credit to them and the work they do, but it's good today to have our own good result too. “, he continues.
« I was a little disappointed when Max came by, I'm not going to lie! » concedes Oakes. “ People will say we needed a reality check, but obviously you do this job because you want to win. You don't come because you don't want to [gagner]. Nobody likes walking at the back of the gate. These last weekends, we are moving forward. But I think in today's race there were moments where I was like, 'Okay, we can do this,' but you also have to say that Max is phenomenal. In these conditions, it is on another level.”, he concludes.
Article published on 11/11/2024 at 5:10 p.m.
