Major blow for Alpine as senior member's exit from the team becomes official

Former Alpine F1 team principal Bruno Famin's exit from the team has become official with the 2024 Belgian GP as his last race at the helm. The French team has undergone several organizational changes since the 2023 season, when they removed Otmar Szafnauer and Laurent Rossi as team principal and CEO, respectively.

Famin replaced Szafnauer and took the reigns of the team after the summer break of the 2023 season and found himself facing the same fate a year later. As per F1 pundit Thomas Maher, Alpine has filed a ledger with Companies House terminating Famin's contract as director of the team.

Speaking with F1.com, the 62-year-old announced his departure from the team ahead of the 2024 Belgian GP. Famin said:

"The background is there are many things together. The main one is we are at a very interesting moment for the Alpine brand, where we have a project that is even stronger than one year ago.

"Then there is a project of reallocating the resources within the brand from the Formula 1 power unit, where we have equally skilled people, to the brand itself in developing these high-end technologies."

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Alpine announce Oliver Oakes as new team principal

Alpine F1 have announced that former Hitech team boss Oliver Oakes would join the outfit as team principal, replacing Bruno Famin from the Dutch GP onwards after the summer break.

As per F1.com, Oakes thanked Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo and Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore, saying:

“I am extremely grateful to Luca de Meo and Flavio Briatore for this opportunity to lead BWT Alpine F1 Team back to competitiveness. The team has talented people and excellent resources at its core, and I am confident that we can accomplish a great deal together during the remainder of this season and the longer term. I look forward to getting started after the summer break.”

Flavio Briatore,meanwhile, said he was delighted with the appointment of Oakes:

“I am delighted that we have been able to recruit Oli Oakes for our Formula 1 project. Oli is highly talented with a great record of leadership and success in racing."

Briatore further spoke about the significance of the move:

"His move into this role is a great example of the strength and belief we have in our team and by young, upcoming people, and I’m excited to work closely with him with a joint focus on moving up the grid and winning races,” said Briatore.

Oakes will become the second-youngest team principal in F1 history at 36, after Christian Horner. The latter was 32 when he joined Red Bull in 2005. Alpine is currently P8 in the Constructor's Championship with 11 points.