Alpine F1 Aims to Keep Up as Rivals Set the Pace

Alpine F1 boss Oliver Oakes admits the team is trailing top rivals but remains determined to stay close and fight in 2024.

Can Alpine F1 close the gap to the leading teams and compete with them? Director Oliver Oakes would like to say so, but he remains skeptical and believes a reasonable goal, for now, is to try to stay close to those four frontrunners.

“I’m trying to be mindful of what I say because otherwise, it might seem like we’re not being positive,” Oakes stated. “But I think, to be honest, it’s still clear that these teams have a head start.”

“I believe our goal is to continue where we left off at the end of last year, meaning we want to stay on the heels of those teams. That doesn’t mean we’re being defeatist, but we’re also very aware of how tight the competition is.”

The Briton remains cautious but hopes to maintain positive momentum amid an increasingly competitive midfield: “I think we are carrying on from the second half of last year, and I say this with some hesitation because I believe the midfield is extremely competitive.”

“And I think the whole grid is tightening up, with performance shifting depending on the circuits. Obviously, I wasn’t here for the first part of last year, so I’m now going back to some of these tracks where I haven’t been and haven’t seen how the team performed.”

“But I think we are confident in how we finished last season, and we want to start this year on the same foundation. And after these test days, I believe we are in a good position.”

Oakes: Alpine F1 Chasing as Top Teams Hold the Advantage

The Alpine F1 team boss had no scheduled meeting with Mazepin.

Dmitry Mazepin was merely “catching up” during last week’s Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

That is according to Alpine F1 team boss Oliver Oakes, who knows the controversial Russian well from their collaboration with the junior team Hitech.

Observers in Bahrain were surprised to see Mazepin in the Sakhir paddock, given that his sponsor Uralkali and his son Nikita were ousted from Haas and Formula 1 three years ago following the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis.

Some speculated that the billionaire was a guest of Alpine, but it now appears he had only a generic guest pass—meaning Formula 1 and the FIA had no prior knowledge of his presence.

Oakes admits he “said hello” to the 56-year-old Mazepin, who was accompanied by Nikita’s younger brother.

“Yes. I didn’t meet him specifically,” the Alpine team principal insisted.

“Yes, he’s a friend of mine, yes, I was with him at Hitech. He was here to see another friend. It was nice to see him.”

As for what Mazepin was doing in Bahrain, Oakes responded: “I’m not going into details—the world is a crazy place.”

A source close to Mazepin told a specialist media outlet that the Russian was in Bahrain on a “personal visit.”