’It’s always been about racing, I don’t know anything else’ – F1's newest team boss Oli Oakes on getting Alpine back on track


Not long after Oli Oakes was announced as Alpine’s new Team Principal – and the second youngest team boss in Formula 1 history – he had a call from rival and Mercedes chief Toto Wolff to congratulate him.
“Toto said something quite funny,” says Oakes. “He said ‘it’s good to have some young blood [among] us dinosaurs!’ I was laughing away, it was nice of him to be so welcoming. People at home don’t often get to see that part of F1 – how close people are, how so many people have come up through the ranks together in different ways. I think it’s quite cool.”
Next Up
Related Articles
Brown insists McLaren ‘won’t change the way we race’
11 times F1 drivers took another driver’s car number
Verstappen confirms new number for 2026 season
Marko ‘believed in me when others didn’t’ – Lindblad
Piastri reveals lessons that will ‘only make me stronger’
F1 CEO Domenicali reflects on 'phenomenal' 2025
