Oliver Oakes resigned as Alpine F1 boss days after brother was arrested for ‘transferring criminal property’

Oliver Oakes resigned as Alpine F1 team principal on Tuesday night just days after his brother was arrested, it has been revealed.

William Oakes, a fellow director at junior team Hitech Grand Prix, was arrested in Silverstone Park last Thursday and charged with “transferring criminal property” a day later. Police state the 31-year-old was in “possession of a large amount of cash.”

The police statement adds that he has been remanded in custody, having appeared before Northampton Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Oliver Oakes, who is not accused of any wrongdoing or links to the arrest of William Oakes, joined Alpine from Hitech last summer. He resigned on Tuesday night – one day before the team changed their driver line-up, with Jack Doohan dropped for Franco Colapinto.

The report in The Telegraph details that ex-Alpine boss Oakes flew to Dubai from the Miami Grand Prix last weekend, but his current whereabouts are unknown.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police read: “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.”

The Independent has approached Hitech Grand Prix for further comment.

In 2022, Hitech Grand Prix was 75 per cent owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, who has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Mazepin initially bought a stake in 2016 when his son, Nikita, joined the team to compete in Formula 3.

Oliver Oakes took full ownership of the team nine days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, forming a new company – Hitech Global Holdings Ltd – on 11 March 2022 to take control of shares from Mazepin’s Cyprus-based company Bergton Management Ltd.

Hitech Global Holdings Ltd was formed three days after the Mazepins were sanctioned by both the UK government and the European Union.

Nikita Mazepin, who was a Haas F1 driver at the time of the invasion, was sacked by the team before the start of the 2022 season. Haas also ditched their Mazepin-owned title sponsor, Uralkali.

Nikita Mazepin has since been cleared to return to competitive racing after a ban was overturned by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Meanwhile, an assumed disagreement between Oakes and Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore over the driver swap was denied, in a joint statement on Wednesday.

A statement attributed to Oakes read: “It’s been a privilege to lead everyone at Enstone, what a team, what a place.

“It is a personal decision for me to step down. Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role, as well as giving me the opportunity. Everyone is in place for 2026 and where this dream deserves to be.

“I believe in Enstone.”

Briatore added: “Me and Oli have a very good relationship and had long-term ambitions to drive this team forward together.

“We respect Oli’s request to resign and have therefore accepted his resignation. The reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.”