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‘There’s no magic’ – Oakes outlines Alpine’s approach to 2025 season as teams get set for ‘big compromise’
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Oliver Oakes has taken positives from Alpine’s competitive end to 2024, and their recovery to sixth in the constructors’ standings, while stating that there will be “no magic” involved in them climbing further up the Formula 1 pecking order.
Alpine have been competing in the sport since 2021, when parent company Renault opted for a rebrand to promote the sportscar marque, scoring a victory and finishing fifth overall during their debut season before improving to fourth position.
Hopes of taking the next step and becoming a front-runner have so far failed to materialise, though, prompting a host of managerial changes over the past couple of years – the latest being Oakes’s arrival as team boss and Flavio Briatore returning as an advisor.
Oakes first appeared on the Alpine pit wall at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix and, across the 10-race period that followed, the outfit rose from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings, aided by a spectacular double podium finish in a rain-hit encounter at Interlagos.
Oakes has been in the Team Principal role at Alpine for around half a year
Speaking recently to the Beyond The Grid podcast, Oakes reflected on his journey at Alpine so far, as well as pondering their objectives for the 2025 campaign and beyond, given the major regulation changes that are on the horizon.
“I think you’ve got to be pragmatic, but you can’t also just be resting on a plan – you’ve got to be flexible as well,” said Oakes, a former karting world champion and racing driver who has also run his own team – Hitech Grand Prix – in junior categories.
READ MORE: Oakes discusses ‘trepidation’ over becoming third Alpine Team Principal in 18 months
“There’s no magic. We just have to get the team working together. We have to produce a better car. I think [in 2024], one of the main positives is that we brought performance to the car.
“We had a tough start to the season, but actually the upgrades we brought worked. We’ve done it twice. That shows that we’ve got a good group here.”
Now Alpine and the rest of the F1 grid will experience the headache of balancing resources on updates through 2025 and preparing an all-new challenger for the aforementioned 2026 technical overhaul – which will include power units with increased electrical power and the introduction of 100% sustainable fuels.
2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Joy for Alpine as Ocon and Gasly seal double podium finish
“[It’s] a big sort of compromise,” Oakes admitted. “You’ve got to give resource to the current car, you’ve got to get ready for the new reg change from January as well. That’s fun to be making those decisions.
“I think there’s still lots of things that are important to be doing in the present that will still be relevant in a year’s time, even with the new regulation changes, so from our side, we’re pushing on all fronts.
“The rules will be different but you’re still improving all your performance tools that go into how you develop a car. You still need to be bringing performance, because it doesn’t matter what regulations change, that’s still the basics of going racing.
“From my side, we obviously need to make sure we allocate enough resource that we’re not behind the eight ball for the ‘26 rules, but we’re still pushing in ‘25. There’s still a lot up for grabs.”
Alpine will continue with Pierre Gasly as one of their drivers for a third successive season in 2025, with the Frenchman to be joined by Australia’s Jack Doohan – a former F3 championship runner-up and F2 race winner.
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