Since his return to Alpine`s management last June as an executive advisor, Flavio Briatore`s influence has expanded far beyond “top-level areas,” now impacting all facets of the operation. This ranges from abandoning the 2026 engine program to the recent upheaval in the driver lineup. With team principal Oli Oakes` departure earlier this week, Briatore is once again firmly in charge of the Renault-owned team.
Briatore`s comeback to the team he led to championship success two decades prior was always going to stir debate. The FIA banned him for life in 2009 over his role in the 2008 Singapore “Crashgate” scandal, where he was found to have ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash to help teammate Fernando Alonso win the race. Although French courts overturned the ban in 2010, and he remained an influential figure in F1, his direct involvement in team management only resumed last summer.
Oakes` resignation, attributed by Alpine to “personal reasons,” clears the path for Briatore to reassume daily operational control from the Enstone base. With his favoured driver pairing of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto now confirmed, the 75-year-old Italian has direct command of the team, supported by Renault CEO Luca de Meo.
The repercussions of the recent chaos at Alpine are still unfolding and far from clear. While Briatore`s notoriously aggressive, cutthroat management style might yield immediate improvements, the team`s long-term outlook remains highly ambiguous.
Colapinto In, Doohan Out
Recent events at Alpine echo Briatore`s methods from the mid-2000s. As Renault team principal in 2004, he dismissed Jarno Trulli, despite Trulli securing their only victory that year in Monaco, after five consecutive point-less races. World champion Jacques Villeneuve stepped in for the final three races of the season but struggled with the R24, failing to score points.
While parallels exist with the latest driver swap, there are distinctions. Rookie Jack Doohan was given just seven races (including his 2024 Abu Dhabi debut) before being replaced, while Colapinto has only five races to demonstrate his capability. Although Alpine suggests the door isn`t entirely closed for Doohan, Colapinto`s financial backing and the awkward timing of the change mid-season (before a doubleheader) imply he`s likely to retain the seat unless his performance is exceptionally poor before the British Grand Prix in July.
Was it fair to drop Doohan after only six races in 2025? On the surface, his results were modest – zero points compared to teammate Gasly`s seven, with a best finish of 13th in Bahrain, where he initially ran in the top 10. His tenure was also marked by several incidents: crashing out of the opening round in Australia, getting tangled in a last-lap incident in the China sprint, a huge accident in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix (leaving DRS open), and colliding with Liam Lawson in the first corner in Miami.
However, Doohan`s defense includes respectable underlying pace, averaging 0.314 seconds behind Gasly in standard and sprint qualifying sessions combined. Notably, he outqualified Gasly for the first time in a non-sprint session in Miami on Saturday, showing the kind of development expected from a rookie early in their debut season.
Furthermore, Doohan has been under immense pressure since Briatore secured Colapinto on a loan deal from Williams in January. Before even driving the current Alpine car in preseason testing, Doohan faced constant questions about his future amid reports that Colapinto would replace him within the first five races of the season.
While Alpine offered limited media support, then-team principal Oakes noticeably didn`t dismiss the possibility of an early change. Hints from team insiders and Colapinto`s sponsors consistently pointed to a swap around the Miami race time.
Perhaps most telling was Williams team principal James Vowles` preseason comment: he released Colapinto to Alpine on loan explicitly to provide him with an F1 opportunity, as Williams had no immediate opening (with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz mentioned). Vowles stated unequivocally, “Ultimately, Franco is my driver that I want back in the car… After a period of time, he`ll return to Williams. That period of time is not a line set in stone… But I can say he`ll be back to Williams at some point.”
Briatore later justified Alpine`s dynamic driver strategy as a means for a “complete and fair assessment” of drivers before the significant 2026 regulation changes. Yet, with Williams holding expectations for Colapinto`s eventual return in the coming years, Alpine risks investing race experience in a driver who may ultimately transfer back to a key competitor just as he reaches his prime.
Meanwhile, the future and confidence of Jack Doohan, notably the only junior driver promoted directly to a race seat by the Alpine driver academy, now appear significantly uncertain.
What Next for Alpine?
The recent turmoil aligns perfectly with Alpine`s turbulent history since returning as a full works team in 2016 (rebranded from Renault in 2021). The team has peaked at fourth in the constructors` championship, securing only one win and nine podiums. A significant misstep was losing current championship leader Oscar Piastri from their driver academy to rivals McLaren in 2022 – a move that looks increasingly poor given Piastri`s current form and Alpine`s ongoing difficulty finding a suitable teammate for Gasly.
Rapid management turnover is the clear primary cause for this underperformance, particularly the swift changes over the last two years. This started with brand CEO Laurent Rossi`s exit in July 2023, quickly followed by team principal Otmar Szafnauer, technical chief Pat Fry, and sporting director Alan Permane a week later.
In the aftermath, Bruno Famin became interim, then full team principal, during whose tenure technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer also left. Famin himself departed approximately a year after taking the role. His exit coincided with the Renault Group`s decision, made in consultation with Briatore, to terminate its F1 engine program for 2026 and purchase Mercedes power units, ending Renault`s 49-year history as an F1 engine supplier at the end of this season.
Oli Oakes joined as Famin`s successor, with Doohan`s promotion to a race seat being one of his first major announcements. However, with Briatore already in an influential advisory role, Oakes` authority within the team appeared consistently subject to approval from above.
Following an initial Alpine statement declining comment on Oakes` departure reasons, both Alpine and Briatore posted on social media the next day to refute claims of a disagreement. Briatore stated, “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.”
Oakes added in his own post: “It is a personal decision for me to step down. Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role, as well as giving me the opportunity. Everyone is in place for 2026 and where the dream deserves to be.”
The unrealized potential of the Alpine F1 team remains a primary frustration. Despite management upheavals, the Enstone base houses a dedicated and skilled workforce that could undoubtedly achieve more under stable, consistent leadership direction.
While the shift to Mercedes power units next year signals the end of Alpine as an engine supplier, it could offer a significant performance advantage against non-Mercedes competitors at the start of the 2026 regulations. To leverage this opportunity, the team desperately needs stability above all else.
Whether this new era under Briatore provides that stability or simply continues the cycle of more months of upheaval remains to be seen.
Dominic Ashworth