Oliver Oakes resigned as
Alpine F1
The team principal disclosed this information on Tuesday evening, mere days following his brother’s arrest, as has come to light.
William Oakes, who also serves as a director for the young racing team Hitech Grand Prix, was taken into custody in Silverstone Park on Thursday and subsequently faced charges of “transferring criminal property” on Friday. According to law enforcement officials, the 31-year-old had a substantial sum of money in his possession.
The police statement adds that he has been remanded in custody, having appeared before Northampton Magistrates Court on Saturday.
Oliver Oakes, who has not been implicated in any misconduct or connected to William Oakes’ arrest, moved from Hitech to Alpine last summer.
resigned on Tuesday night
– the day before the team
changed their driver line-up
, with
Jack Doohan
dropped for
Franco Colapinto
.
The report in
The Telegraph
Details show that former Alpine team principal Oakes traveled to Dubai after the Miami Grand Prix last week, however, his present location remains unclear.
A statement released by the Metropolitan Police stated: “On Friday, May 2, William Oakes, aged 31 and residing in Rugby, was charged with moving criminal assets. This occurred after he was detained in the Silverstone Park region of Northamptonshire on Thursday, May 1, 2025, for having a substantial sum of money.”
He appeared at the Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, May 3, and was remanded into custody.
The Independent
has reached out to Hitech Grand Prix for additional commentary.
In 2022, Hitech Grand Prix was majority-owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, who maintains strong connections with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Mazepin first acquired a share in the company back in 2016 after his son, Nikita, became part of the team competing in Formula 3.
Oliver Oakes became the sole owner of the team just nine days prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On March 11, 2022, he established a new entity called Hitech Global Holdings Ltd to assume control of the shares from Bergton Management Ltd, which was based in Cyprus and previously held stakes for the former owner, Mazepin.
Hitech Global Holdings Ltd came into existence just three days following the sanctions imposed on the Mazepin family by both the UK government and the European Union.
Nikita Mazepin
, who was an Haas F1 driver when the invasion occurred, was released by the team prior to the beginning of the 2022 season. Additionally, Haas terminated their partnership with Uralkali, the title sponsor owned by Mazepin.
Nikita Mazepin has now been permitted to resume competitive racing following the overturning of his suspension by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
At the same time, there appeared to be a conflict between Oakes and the executive advisor for Alpine.
Flavio Briatore
The request for a driver change was rejected, as stated jointly on Wednesday.
A statement credited to Oakes stated: “Having had the honor of leading all the folks at Enstone, it truly has been remarkable—a fantastic team in an amazing location.”
It’s a personal choice for me to resign. Flavio has acted like a father figure, always being incredibly supportive since I assumed my position, and he gave me this chance. Everything is set for 2026, and we’re ready for where this dream truly belongs.
“I believe in Enstone.”
Briatore stated, “Oli and I share an excellent rapport and we’ve had extensive plans to steer this team towards success collaboratively over the long term.”
We acknowledge Oli’s decision to step down and as such, we have approved his resignation. These reasons pertain solely to personal matters and do not involve the team.
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