’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
ExclusiveWhy Sainz feels ‘vindicated’ after his first Williams year
REVEALED: Your favourite race of the 2025 season
11 times F1 drivers took another driver’s car number
Winners & Losers5 Winners and 5 Losers from the 2025 season
WATCH: F1 Animated returns for a look back at 2025
EXPLAINED: The key terms for F1’s new-for-2026 rules
