Who is Alpine's new team principal?

For many a casual F1 fan, the announcement of Alpine's new team principal may have led to an 'Oliver who?' response.

Oliver Oakes, however, is well known in motor-racing circles, notably after starting Hitech GP in 2015, the seed of which has resulted in Alpine deciding to make him the youngest team boss on the current Formula 1 grid when he starts his new role at the Dutch Grand Prix in late August.

It was perhaps pre-ordained that the 36-year-old would forge a career in motorsport as his father, Billy, was the founder and owner of Eurotek Motorsport which competed in the British F3 and Formula Renault championships. 

Oakes started karting at the age of four, going on to become a two-time British Open champion by the time he was 12, and World Karting champion when he was 17.

His performances drew the attention of Red Bull, who signed him to their Young Driver Programme soon after but unlike many of his peers who went on to make a name for themselves behind the wheel, even reaching the heights of F1, Oakes' career never took off.

That is despite the fact Oakes took pole and race win on his debut in the Formula BMW UK championship with Carlin Motorsport in 2006. A further four podiums in the additional eight rounds he competed saw him finish sixth in the standings.

A switch to Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup for the following season saw him finish fourth on the back of five podiums, but that was as good as it got.

Oakes into management, and links with the Mazepins

A season with his father's Eurotek in the British Formula 3 Euroseries in 2008 yielded just one point, and he then competed in the inaugural GP3 season two years later but failed to score a point in 16 races, leading to the end of his days on-track.

It was at that stage that Oakes switched to management, initially in karting with Team Oakes Racing before setting up Hitech GP in 2015, born from Hitech Racing that had started out 12 years earlier.

Hitech GP started out competing in Formula 3 and has since also moved into F2, as well as other series. 

Despite Oakes failing to star in single-seaters, he always maintained a good relationship with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko who has sent juniors to Hitech over the years to aid their development and education.

The team has won races in F2 with Red Bull juniors Liam Lawson, Juri Vips and Jak Crawford, whilst the likes of George Russell and Nikita Mazepin have also been through the Hitech doors on their motorsport journeys. Oakes forged strong ties with the Mazepin family.

Another rising Red Bull star, and current F2 championship leader Isack Hadjar drove for Hitech last season before moving to Campos this year.

Oakes attempted a move into F1 with Hitech when the FIA launched its Expressions of Interest process at the start of 2022, but was overlooked as motorsport's governing body turned to Andretti.