quote:

Oakes's Alpine F1 exit came days after brother's arrest

May 8, 2025

Oliver Oakes resigned from the Alpine Formula 1 team just days after his brother William was arrested near their Hitech squad’s Silverstone base.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that William Oakes was remanded in custody last weekend, having been arrested while carrying “a large amount of cash”.

Oliver Oakes’ resignation from the Alpine team principal role was announced on Tuesday night.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told The Telegraph: “William Oakes, 31, of Rugby was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, May 2 after he was stopped in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in possession of a large amount of cash. He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, May 3, and remanded in custody.”

The Oakes brothers are listed as the directors of the Hitech Global Holdings firm that operates the Hitech racing teams that Oliver led before moving into F1 with Alpine.

Oakes’ departure from Alpine was announced the night before it confirmed it was replacing Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto.

But Briatore and Alpine issued a statement on social media on Wednesday afternoon insisting the reasons for Oakes’ departure were “not related to the team and are of a personal nature” and strongly denying a disagreement over driver policy had triggered his exit.