(Zandvoort) Alpine “must find its team spirit again” and “put the right people in the right places” to return to the top of the bill, declared Italian Flavio Briatore on Saturday, who hopes to be able to aim for podiums from 2027.
“We need to remotivate everyone, find the team spirit we had before. That’s our mission, but it’s going to take time. We need to be realistic, we hope to fight for podiums in 2027,” explained the Transalpine during a press briefing on the sidelines of the Dutch Grand Prix.
“The current situation is not ideal and the competition is tough, 6-7 teams can fight for victories. We have to put the right people in the right places. A good team is a team that works hand in hand and where everyone has the same ambition to reach the top,” he added.
Appointed “executive advisor” to the Alpine team at the end of June by Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault group, Briatore (74 years old) has since been trying to restore order to the team to enable it to return to the forefront after two complicated seasons.
“There was no management. I think Alpine’s problem was that they chose a few bad leaders,” he told about 20 journalists gathered in Alpine’s brand new hospitality.
Briatore was therefore tasked with choosing a new director capable of revitalising the team and he opted for the British Oliver Oakes, former boss of the Hitech team, which competes in the F2 and F3 championships.
“Oli is young, enthusiastic, full of energy and ambitious. That’s what the team needs. To be able to relaunch this team, we need young people, passionate people, people who know what’s going on in the factory and in the race. Oli doesn’t have experience in a big F1 team, but he has the talent to succeed,” explained the Italian.
Oakes appeared very enthusiastic, despite the magnitude of the task ahead.
“It’s a privilege, I’m very lucky. It’s a wonderful opportunity and obviously the expectations are very high for me and Flavio,” admitted Oliver Oakes, who at 36 became the second youngest ‘team principal’ in F1 history.
After finishing fourth in 2022 and sixth in 2023, Alpine currently only occupies 8th placee place out of 10 in the constructors’ standings with only 11 points on the clock.