Flavio Briatore has denied that Oliver Oakes shock resignation from Alpine had something to do with the choice to drop Jack Doohan.
The Italian, who stays Government Advisor however will now l even be protecting the duties beforehand carried out by Oakes, took to social media to shed additional gentle on the Briton’s sudden departure.
“Loads has been stated previously 24 hours incorrectly associating the choice of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement or that we shared completely different views,” he posted on Instagram. “That is fully false and much from the reality.
“Me and Oli have an excellent relationship,” he continued, “and had long-term ambitions to drive this staff ahead collectively.
“We respect Oli’s request to resign and have subsequently accepted his resignation,” he added. “The explanations usually are not associated to the staff and are of a private nature.
“I’ll proceed to be increasingly concerned with the staff, along with the robust administration we have already got in place. We’ll work laborious on enhancing our place this season and getting ready for 2026.”
Briatore’s submit features a quote from Oakes, which reads: “It’s a private resolution for me to step down.
“Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing however supportive since I took the function, in addition to giving me the chance.
“Everyone seems to be in place for 2026 and the place this staff deserves to be.”
Going into conspiracy idea mode, one has ponder whether Oakes’ resolution was concerning the potential sale of the staff.
Hitech was one of many groups that formally registered its want to enter the world championship in 2026, nonetheless its bid proved unsuccessful.
When Oakes subsequently joined Alpine there was hypothesis that he is likely to be searching for to purchase the staff even when Renault and Briatore have constantly insisted that it isn’t on the market.
May or not it’s that Oakes has now discovered of a potential purchaser and is both sad with who this is likely to be or just miffed that he missed out.
All conjecture after all, however one thing unusual is happening and we’ve been satisfied for a while that the French outfit is out there… for the correct worth.
