Wild arrest twist after Alpine boss resigns following Aussie driver’s axing

The turmoil inside one F1 team’s garage has taken a shocking turn in the wake of two bombshell axings that rocked the sport.

The turmoil inside the Formula 1 garage of Alpine has taken a dramatic twist in the wake of team principal Oliver Oakes resigning.

Oakes pulled the pin after less than a year in the position, a move that come only a day after it was announced Jack Doohan had been sacked.

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Many within the F1 community were quick to link Oakes’ departure with Doohan’s sacking after the Brit had been a major backer of the Aussie rookie.

Oakes’ departure however was noted as being “of a personal nature” and on Friday it appeared the reason may have been revealed.

The 37-year-old’s young brother, William, was arrested by police on Thursday, May 1 and charged with “transferring criminal property”.

The Oakes brothers are co-directors of Hitech Grand Prix, which fields cars in Formula 2, Formula 3 and other junior categories. Hitech Grand Prix and holding company Hitech Global Holdings are both registered in Silverstone Park.

The racing team’s base is located in the Silverstone Park area, where 31-year-old William was detained by Metropolitan Police.

Olive Oakes’ brother was arrested and charged by UK police. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

“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,” local police said in a statement.

“He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, May 3, and remanded in custody.”

News.com.au is not suggesting Oliver Oakes had any involvement in the matters involving his brother.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Oakes’ departure from Alpine, the team moved quickly to shut down any suggestions his resignation was due to disagreements with executive director Flavio Briatore.

Flavio Briatore shut down suggestions surrounding the team principal’s resignation. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

“A lot has been said in the past 24 hours, incorrectly associating the decision of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement, or that we shared different views. This is completely false and far from the truth,” Briatore said in a statement he posted on Instagram with Alpine.

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

“We accept 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.”

Oakes’ decision to step down wasn’t linked with Doohan’s axing. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Briatore is an infamous figure in the sport and the sight of him taking power at the team will not sit well with all F1 commentators.

Briatore, who oversaw multiple world titles for Benetton in the 1990s and Renault in the mid-2000s, was the dominant figure of the “Crashgate” scandal which saw his driver Nelson Piquet intentionally crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to help Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.

He was at the time given a lifetime ban by the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, for the incident. That ban was eventually overturned in a French court.

He has also previously been convicted of crimes, including fraudulent bankruptcy and tax evasion.

Jack standing alongside Flavio. (Photo by SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP)

Alpine’s decision to drop Doohan and install Franco Colapinto alongside Pierre Gasly did not go over well with Mick Doohan coming out swinging.

The motorcycle legend attempted to come to the defence of his son as he took aim at the F1 team over the brutal move.

The five-time MotoGP world champion posted a graphic of Doohan and Gasly’s race results from the season so far on his Instagram stories.

He was attempting to highlight just how poorly the Alpine car has been performing but F1 fans pointed out that the graphic he shared only served to emphasise how Jack was outclassed by his teammate.

Mick missed the mark with his post. (Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images)

For the record, Gasly’s results are 11th, 11th, 13th, 7th, DNF, 13th and Doohan’s results are: DNF, 13th, 15th, 14th, 17th, DNF.

F1 drivers are measured closely against their teammates first and foremost, and Doohan finishing behind Gasly would not have gone unnoticed within Alpine.

Colapinto will now get a chance to prove his worth alongside Gasly while it remains to be seen if Doohan will get another chance to rekindle his Formula 1 career.

The Formula 1 grid will return to action when the paddock descends upon the Imola circuit for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 18 from 11pm (AEST).

Originally published as Wild arrest twist after Alpine boss resigns following Aussie driver’s axing