Breaking: Brother of former Alpine F1 boss arrested

The brother of former Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes has been arrested, charged with "transferring criminal property". 

Oakes resigned as Alpine team boss on Tuesday evening, whilst his brother, William, was arrested last Thursday before being charged a day later. 

William remains in custody and was in possession of a large amount of cash when arrested in the Silverstone Park area last Thursday, according to police. 

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "William Oakes, 31, of Rugby was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, May 2 after he was stopped in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in possession of a large amount of cash. He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, May 3, and remanded in custody."

He was listed as a director of Hitech Grand Prix on Companies House, the company Oliver took full ownership of just nine days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Until nine days prior to the invasion, it was 75% owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, the father of former Haas F1 driver, Nikita. 

The company was initially formed by Oliver and David Hayle in 2015, before Dmitry purchased a stake in the organisation a year later when his son joined the team in Formula 3. 

When the situation between Russia and Ukraine began, Oliver formed a new company Hitech Global Holdings Ltd on March 11 2022. 

The new company was formed to take control of Dmitry's shares, which came from his investment company Bergton Management Ltd. based in Cyprus.

In terms of the timing, Oliver's new company was formed just three days after Dmitry and Nikita were sanctioned by the European Union and the UK government.

Nikita has since successfully had the sanctions against him overturned by the Court of Justice of the European Union. According to The Telegraph, Oakes has travelled to Dubai.