Why F1 Team Part-Owned By Pat Mahomes And Travis Kelce Faces Turmoil

The Miami Grand Prix may have marked the end of an era for Alpine, who replaced Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto less than a day after team principal Oliver Oakes abruptly quit.

The team, which counts NFL star Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce among its investors along with Masters champion Rory McIlroy and Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, began the season looking to improve on last year’s sixth place finish in the constructors’ championship.

Those hopes appear to have already been quashed, with Alpine second-bottom in the constructors’ standings with just seven points in six races.

Oakes’ departure comes less than a year after he replaced Bruno Famin, who was assigned to a different role 17 months after stepping in following the sudden firing of Otmar Szafnauer in 2023.

Here’s all you need to know about Formula 1’s latest saga.

What’s happened at Alpine?

It would be easier to discuss what hasn’t happened at Alpine. In the space of 24 hours the team parted ways with team principal Oliver Oakes and replaced rookie driver Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto.

Oakes abruptly quit Alpine on Tuesday, less than a year after taking over the role with the Enstone-based team.

In a short statement, Alpine announced Flavio Briatore would continue in his role as executive adviser and would also cover Oakes’ duties.

“BWT Alpine Formula One announces that Oliver Oakes has resigned from his role a Team Principal,” read the team statement.

“The team has accepted the resignation with immediate effect.

“The team would like to thank Oliver for his efforts since he joined last summer and for his contribution in helping the team secure sixth place in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship.

“As of today, Flavio Briatore will continue as Executive Advisor and will also be covering the duties previously performed by Oliver Oakes.”

Twelve hours later, meanwhile, came the confirmation that Colapinto would replace Doohan on the grid from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola next weekend.

Alpine, which is owned by Renault and has won four world titles in its previous guises as Benetton and Renault, has undergone a period of significant staff and management upheaval since Szafnauer’s departure.

Chief technical officer Pat Fry, sporting director Alan Permane and technical director Matt Harman have all left, along with head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer and operations director Rob White.

Meanwhile, Renault, who has been involved in Formula 1 since 1977 announced last year it would end its engine programme in the sport with Alpine set to run Mercedes engines next season.

Why did Oliver Oakes quit Alpine?

It’s a question that still needs answering. Details over the motive behind Oakes’ decision to part ways with the team were scarce in the statement announcing his departure.

On Wednesday, Flavio Briatore posted on Instagram that “the reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.”

According to the Daily Telegraph and The Athletic, Oakes’ sudden resignation came after his brother William was arrested in Britain last week.

William was charged with “transferring criminal property” by the Metropolitan Police on May 2 after being stopped “in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire,” the previous day.

Like his brother, William Oakes is listed as director of Hitech Grand Prix, a single-seater team competing in junior formulas, which is headquartered at Silverstone Park, close to the home of the British Grand Prix.

Who is Flavio Briatore?

Alpine’s special advisor is one of the most charismatic and simultaneously controversial figure in the world of Formula 1.

The Italian was appointed team principal of Benetton in 1988 and was instrumental in turning the team into one of the powerhouses of Formula 1, winning the drivers’ world titles with Michael Schumacher in 1994 and 1995.

Replaced as team principal in 1997, Briatore returned to the team three years later as director and team principal when Benetton was acquired by Renault.

Under Briatore’s stewardship, the French marque won two more world championships with Fernando Alonso in 2004 and 2005, claiming the constructors’ titles in both years.

But the Italian departed the paddock in disgrace in 2008 in the wake of the so-called “crashgate” scandal at the Singapore Grand Prix in the same year.

Renault driver Nelson Piquet alleged Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds asked him to crash to force the deployment of the safety car. The incident played into the hands of his teammate Alonso, who had previously stopped and was moved into the lead as his rivals pitted.

The Spaniard went on to win the race and Briatore, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was banned for life by the FIA – motorsports governing body – in 2009.

While France’s high court overruled the ban the following year, he remained a peripheral figure in Formula 1 until he joined Alpine last year, when he was brought in by Renault CEO Luca de Meo.

Why was Jack Doohan replaced?

Doohan made his debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year when he replaced Esteban Ocon earlier than anticipated, finishing 15th.

So far this season, the Australian has failed to score a point in six races, crashing in Australia and in Miami last weekend, when he collided with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson on the opening lap.

Doohan, who also crashed heavily in practice in Japan, was out-qualified by Pierre Gasly in each of the six races he drove for Alpine by an average of four positions per Grand Prix.

Alpine confirmed the 22-year-old will remain with the team as first choice reserve driver, with Franco Colapinto taking over for the next five races.

The Argentine replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams last season and turned heads in the paddock, picking up five points in nine starts, despite retiring in three of the last four races of the season.

But despite his impressive performances, the 21-year-old was left without a seat for this season as Williams had already signed Carlos Sainz to partner Alex Albon.

As a result, Colapinto joined Alpine as reserve driver in January and now has the chance to impress over the next five races ahead of a “new evaluation before the British Grand Prix”, which is scheduled for the weekend of July 4-6.

“Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races,” Briatore said in a statement.

“With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up.

“We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year. “