Alpine set for swift announcement of new team boss

Alpine looks set to appoint Oliver Oakes as its new team principal in time for the Dutch Grand Prix.

After RacingNews365 revealed that Bruno Famin would be leaving his role as team boss at Alpine, which the Frenchman confirmed during Friday's FIA team principals' press conference on Friday ahead of this weekend's Belgian GP, Oakes swiftly emerged as the leading candidate.

Oakes has made a name for himself as boss of Hitech GP, formed nine years ago and which operates in Formula 2, Formula 3, and the F3 Asian Championship, and is seen as the ideal replacement for Famin, offering a youthful edge as he is just 36.

In revealing his departure, Alpine confirmed that Famin is to take charge of all motorsport activities of the Renault Group at its Viry-Chatillon headquarters by the end of August.

With talks ongoing between Alpine and Oakes, it has been suggested by Formula.hu the team could announce the Briton's appointment at some stage this weekend in Belgium or in the days that follow.

Given the rapid developments at Alpine and Renault, the team may yet opt for a period of calm and make the announcement just before the Dutch Grand Prix that runs from August 23-25. What is clear is that Alpine is hopeful of naming Oakes as soon as possible.

Oakes paves way with Hitech changes

Alpine's decision comes as no surprise as Oakes has steadily risen the motorsport ladder, initially starting as world karting champion in 2005 before taking up a role with the Red Bull junior team.

Oakes' racing career beyond that was unspectacular, competing in a variety of series that included Formula BMW UK, Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, British Formula 3 International Series, and GP3.

After hanging up his racing gloves at the end of 2010, he went on to form the Team Oakes karting team and management service the following year. He then founded Hitech GP in 2015 alongside David Hayle, who had formed Hitech Racing in 2003.

Given his former Red Bull roots, Oakes has long maintained links with the team, which has included rumours of him one day taking over from Christian Horner.

Alpine, though, is moving for a swift resolution to appoint Oakes, who has paved the way for his move by changing the ownership structure of Hitech Grand Prix Holdings Ltd on Friday, the day Alpine declared Famin's exit.

Oakes now holds '75% or more' of the shares and voting rights in the company, allowing him to 'appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of the company'.

In essence, Oakes now has a level of control that makes it easy for him to either sell the team or implement plans for changes in the event of him becoming Alpine team principal.