Oliver Oakes spent his first months at the helm of Alpine F1, and he discovered a more complex role than the one he had in Formula 2, where he was head of the Hitech team. However, he finds similarities there, and thinks that it is especially on the political level that Formula 1 stands out.
“It’s funny, some of it is really similar because you have the same characters in different roles” Oakes said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of race it is, it’s partly the same thing.”
“He’s just another person in another soap opera. And others are very different. Toto made me laugh early on when he called me and said ‘welcome to the piranha club’ and actually, you know, there’s a bit of that, which is quite funny.”
The Briton appreciates the multitude of tasks incumbent on him in his new role: “On the other hand, all these challenges are very interesting, because it is not just about making a car run faster. You have to surround yourself with competent people. There is notice. There are negotiations .
“There is also the recent McLaren thing, which is doing a very good job, and everyone is lobbying against it. But I would say that at the moment we are probably not involved in all that. We just have to make a best car. It’s interesting and there’s nothing like F1, is there?”
Now Oakes tries to understand Alpine’s weak points: “Spa, where we made an update, was pretty decent, I would say. Zandvoort was okay. And then I think Monza, Baku and Singapore, we weren’t very good at all. I think We need to take a good look at why, to be honest.”
Related News :