Oliver Oakes’ resignation as Alpine Formula One team principal came just days after his brother was arrested. William Oakes, who is registered alongside his brother as a director at Hitech Grand Prix on Companies House, was charged with transferring criminal property last week.
William Oakes was stopped in the Silverstone Park area on Thursday, 1 May, in possession of a large amount of cash, according to the Metropolitan Police. The following day, he was charged by the force. He has since been remanded in custody.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Express Sport: “William Oakes, 31, of Rugby was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, 2 May after he was stopped in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire on Thursday, 1 May 2025 in possession of a large amount of cash. He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 3 May, and remanded in custody.”
Express Sport have contacted Alpine Formula One Team and Hitech Grand Prix for comment.
Oliver Oakes, who owns British motor racing team Hitech Grand Prix, had been in attendance at the Miami Grand Prix over the weekend before handing in his resignation on Tuesday. There had been speculation that Oakes’ exit was down to a falling out with Flavio Briatore, the Italian entrepreneur and executive adviser at Alpine.
However, Briatore released a statement denouncing such claims. He said: “A lot has been said in the past 24 hours incorrectly associating the decision of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement or that we shared different views. This is completely false and far from the truth.
“Me and Oli have a very good relationship and had long-term ambitions to drive this team forward together. We respect Oli’s request to resign and have therefore accepted his resignation. The reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.”
It came amid a hectic week for Alpine, after the Enstone-based outfit announced Jack Doohan has been replaced by Franco Colapinto for the next five races. Doohan endured a difficult start to the Formula One season, finishing outside the top 10 in four of the six races, while being forced into a retirement in the other two. His latest retirement came in the Miami Grand Prix, with Colapinto being given five races to make a case for himself, starting at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in two weeks.
