’It’s always been about racing, I don’t know anything else’ – F1's newest team boss Oli Oakes on getting Alpine back on track


Not long after Oli Oakes was announced as Alpine’s new Team Principal – and the second youngest team boss in Formula 1 history – he had a call from rival and Mercedes chief Toto Wolff to congratulate him.
“Toto said something quite funny,” says Oakes. “He said ‘it’s good to have some young blood [among] us dinosaurs!’ I was laughing away, it was nice of him to be so welcoming. People at home don’t often get to see that part of F1 – how close people are, how so many people have come up through the ranks together in different ways. I think it’s quite cool.”
Next Up
Related Articles
Lindblad's car number confirmed for rookie season
Formula 1’s record-breaking 2025 season in numbers
End Of Year Reports 2025Haas’ best and worst moments from 2025
REVEALED: Your favourite race of the 2025 season
Verstappen confirms new number for 2026 season
Quiz10 quiz questions on British F1 World Champions
