Sports
Alpine’s New Era: Oakes Takes the Helm Amidst F1 Political Arena, Briatore’s Role Speculated
Is Flavio Briatore set to engage in F1 politics through his role with Alpine?
What are the prospects for Alpine’s newly appointed team principal Oakes in navigating the political landscape?
The new principal of the Alpine team is set to debut in his role at the upcoming Formula 1 race, which marks the return of the racing season at the Dutch Grand Prix.
In 2015, the ex-race car driver, who is now 36 years old, established Hitech Grand Prix, a team that has since participated in the junior series of Formula 1.
After Bruno Famin chose to resign from his position as the principal of the Alpine team, Oakes was named his successor and will officially start after the summer break.
Following the announcement from Oakes, it was verified that Jonathan Wheatley, the sporting director for Red Bull, would resign from his position with the current world champion team by the close of 2024 to take on the role of team principal at Audi.
Wheatley is set to report directly to Mattia Binotto, the former Ferrari F1 team leader, who has recently taken up the roles of chief operating officer and chief technical officer at Audi.
Binotto is expected to handle the political aspects of Formula 1, giving Wheatley the freedom to concentrate on his role as team principal, while Oakes will have to manage this challenge by himself.
Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz has stated that it's difficult to imagine a scenario where Alpine allows Flavio Briatore, currently serving as the executive advisor to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, to participate in team principal meetings in the same capacity as Binotto does for Audi.
"Kravitz mentioned on Sky Sports F1's latest podcast that Oakes definitely belongs to the group of young, driven individuals who have transitioned from being drivers to team leaders."
As a team leader, he’ll understand what motivates drivers, given his own experience behind the wheel.
"He understands the operations of teams, and I believe he'll manage the political aspects too, since Oakes lacks a direct superior handling the political matters."
"Wheatley holds the position of team principal, yet he is directly overseen by Chief Executive Officer Mattia Binotto within the Sauber/Audi organization, who will handle all the political aspects."
Oakes will need to handle all the political matters on his own, unless he prefers to let Flavio take care of it.
"Attending an F1 Commission meeting or participating in the team principals' gathering… Flavio isn't expected to be present at the team principals’ gathering. He serves as an executive advisor to the head of Renault. That role doesn't necessitate his attendance at a team principals' meeting.
Currently, for those associated with Sauber/Audi, it's Jonathan Wheatley who holds the position of team principal. However, overseeing the entire operation from a broader perspective is Mattia Binotto.
Mattia Binotto is more accustomed to attending Stefano Domenicali's team principals' coffee gatherings.
"One might think that Binotto would have Wheatley manage the Formula 1 team, while he himself plays a role at the upper echelon of Audi, serving in a more representative capacity."
"Oakes needs to get a handle on the political aspects of the job soon, while we'll observe if Wheatley, who has extensive experience in Formula 1 due to his many years in the field compared to Oliver Oakes, can leverage that to his advantage. However, when it comes to the specifics of managing a race team, Oakes holds the upper hand over Wheatley."
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