Fresh twist in Alpine team principal saga as UK police make shock arrest

Former Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes resigned from the team’s top job just days after his brother and business partner Williams Oakes was arrested and charged with transferring criminal property.

According to the UK Telegraph, William Oakes was stopped in Silverstone Park, near Silverstone Circuit in central England, carrying “a large amount of cash” last Thursday.

He was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, and on Saturday he was remanded in custody after appearing before the Northampton Magistrates Court.

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

Oliver Oakes resigned from his role as Alpine team principal unexpectedly on Tuesday, following the Miami Grand Prix.

At the time the move was widely interpreted as stemming from disagreements with executive director Flavio Briatore, in particular over the subsequently announced decision to ditch rookie Jack Doohan in favour of Franco Colapinto for at least five races.

But Briatore took to social media to deny the existence of a rift between the two.

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

Briatore’s social media post also included a message attributed to Oakes.

“It is a personal decision for me to step down,” he wrote. “Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role, as well as giving me the opportunity.”

Oakes reportedly flew from Miami to Dubai after the weekend’s grand prix.

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Oliver Oakes, a former racer and the 2005 karting world champion, incorporated Hitech Grand Prix in late 2014. William Oakes has been a director of the business since July 2019. Both are also listed as directors of Hitech Global Holdings.

Hitech’s first full season of competition was 2016. It fielded future one-season Formula 1 driver Nikita Mazepin in its European Formula 3 driver line-up that year, which was the team’s first involvement with the Russian Mazepin family.

Mazepin would race for Hitech again in the same series in 2017, in Asian Formula 3 in 2019–20 and in Formula 2 in 2020.

Cyprus-based Fungosa Management, which owns Nikita Mazepin’s trademarks, took a 75 per cent stake in Hitech Grand Prix in 2017. Its share was traded back and forth with Uralkali, a company controlled by father Dmitry Mazepin via his business Uralchem.

In early 2021 those shares were transferred to Berton Management Limited, Mazepin’s Cyprus-based investment vehicle. Uralkali sponsorship followed Mazepin to the Haas, where he competed that season alongside Mick Schumacher before losing his drive ahead of the 2022 campaign as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Mazepin, Nikita’s father, was subsequently sanctioned in both the UK and the European Union after as an oligarch and known associate of Vladimir Putin.

Bergton handed its shares back to Oakes on 15 February 2022, nine days before the invasion started, in an exchange that drew critical attention from at least one British MP in 2022.

“The shares were not sold; they were relinquished,” Liam Byrne said during debate on a bill to combat foreign economic corrupt conduct. “There does not seem to have been any cash paid out for this major economic interest in a globally significant grand prix company.

“From Bergton Management Ltd, the ownership of the assets moved to somebody called Oliver Oakes, who now controls 75 per cent of the shares.

“He created Uralkali racing in January of this year. In an interview last year, he called Dmitry Mazepin a friend, associate, colleague and manager.

“I saw from the Companies House register this morning that he created Hitech Global Holdings on 11 March 2022, just three days after Mr Mazepin and his son were sanctioned.

“There is a clear risk that oligarchs are using proxies, and that this misbehaviour is washing up on our shores and in Companies House.”

Dmitry Mazepin was last seen in the Formula 1 paddock during pre-season testing this year, when he was spotted in the Alpine garage in conversation with Flavio Briatore. He was also seen in Mercedes hospitality.

Neither the FIA nor Formula 1 was able to confirm who gave Mazepin his pass. Alpine denied facilitating his access.

Oakes was asked about the oligarch’s presence in the paddock.

“Yes. I’ve said hello to him,” he said, per ESPN. “I haven’t met him.

“Yes, he’s a friend of mine. Yes, I used to be together with him in Hitech.

“He was here catching up with another friend of his. It’s nice to see him.

“I’m not going to go into that. The world’s a crazy place.”