When Oliver Oakes took over as Team Principal of Alpine earlier this year, he was handed one of the toughest jobs in F1—restructuring and stabilizing a team in turmoil. With numerous management changes occurring behind the scenes, Oakes faced the challenge of steering Alpine toward success while preparing for the new regulations era set to begin in 2026.
Oakes wasn’t even involved in the decision-making process that led to the shutdown of Alpine’s power-unit department and the subsequent deal with Mercedes.
However, Oakes never considered that to be a huge roadblock. He too, would have decided to go ahead with the Silver Arrows as their new engine suppliers. Given how well McLaren has progressed as Mercedes’ customer team over the years, the future looked bright to Oakes as well.
“I don’t know the full ins and outs of the decision because it was slightly before I started, but if I were to pick it, then I probably would turn around and say history does show that every time there has been a regulation change, they have been strong,” said Oakes on the Beyond the Grid podcast.
Oli Oakes is a racer in the truest sense. He’s driven himself (2005 world karting champion) and he’s run successful teams in the junior formulas (Hitech). He knows what to do; I’m excited to see what effect he’ll have on Alpine #F1BeyondTheGrid https://t.co/aUwNjtRBhg
— Tom Clarkson (@TomClarksonF1) November 20, 2024
Alpine will cease production of its Renault engines, made in Vichy, from 2026 onwards, after signing a contract with Mercedes to supply power units and gearboxes.
Oakes further justified this by explaining that McLaren is one of the teams fighting for the World Championship. Therefore, pursuing that path was a safe bet made by those in charge before him.
Alpine faced immense backlash for their Mercedes engine decision
Since Alpine will no longer be using Renault-powered engines, their engine department will be shut down. This means dozens of employees, many of whom have been with the Enstone-based team since its Renault days and have contributed to its past Championship successes, will lose their jobs.
Several employees went on strike to show the management that they were not happy. Ahead of the Italian GP, there was a mass protest, with their Works Council also releasing a statement, slamming Alpine for betraying ‘their purpose’. It read,
“We do not understand what justifies killing this elite F1 entity that is the Viry-Châtillon site and betraying its legacy and DNA by implanting a Mercedes heart or any other into our Alpine F1,” the statement read. “The announcement of the end of the development and production of French engines for Formula One is incomprehensible. We cannot conceive that Alpine and the Renault Group would betray their purpose and damage their image“.
With Alpine set to continue using Renault engines for the 2025 season before switching to Mercedes in 2026, they are likely to face a strained relationship with the employees at Viry-Châtillon, where the team’s engines are produced. Many of these employees feel betrayed by the decision.
