Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes admits he was taken aback when he realised the financial benefits of Alpine’s leap up the constructors’ championship standings following their double podium in the F1 Brazil GP.
A sensational P2 and P3 for the struggling Enstone-based Alpine was a major talking point following the race at Interlagos. The team’s shock result saw them leapfrog to P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, placing them firmly amidst the hotly contested battle between Haas and RB.
With the team’s 33 point swing potentially netting them around €30 million in additional prize money, the implications of the result was not lost on Team Principal Oliver Oakes.
Speaking following the F1 Brazil GP, Oakes admitted he was shown the figures involved, if the highly improved Alpine squad can maintain position for the remaining 3 Grands Prix this season, by Karun Chandhok.
“Yeah, well, I think it was Karun who actually came up to me and showed me a sort of maths on his hand of doing that,” Oakes said following the Grand Prix. “Obviously, for me, it’s a great result for the team.”
Oakes, who joined the team in July following the departure of Bruno Famin, went on to explain the importance of the team’s strong result both for the drivers and the team as a whole. Following a difficult run of form until quite recently, Oakes hopes the result will motivate the team.
“I think, obviously, across Enstone and Viry, it’s a big result after the last couple of years or even the beginning of this year, so I’m happy for them.
“Esteban has obviously had a few tricky races. He was one race behind on the updates, but from the first lap today on wet, he was unbelievable, and then transitioning into Inter. I think, yeah, he was very strong. It’s not lost on me.”
When asked further of the emotion within the team following the Grand Prix, Oakes had a very level headed outlook. While he believed it is important to enjoy the strong results, he stressed the need to remain humble due to the fast moving nature of Formula 1.
“It is a real big result today,” He replied. “But I was thinking this earlier. You’ve got to enjoy the moment, but also be humble because there’s still quite a few races left, isn’t there?
“I think more for the team as a whole. Beginning of the season, they got a lot of mud slung at them, I guess you could say, or a bit of stick. I think you can see how much it means to them.”
Reflecting on the marked improvement of the team in recent races, Oakes highlighted Austin as a key moment of motivation for the team. He claims the team are confident ahead of the 3 remaining Grands Prix this season, while remaining wary of the competitiveness of the midfield.
“I was trying to count earlier how many weeks I’ve been here.” He explained. “I think it’s 15, something like that. Yes, 15, 16 weeks. Obviously when you arrive, like I did just before the shutdown, I think they’d just got a point in Spa, if I’m right or wrong. And then Zandvoort was also another point, and that was a good race. But then those last three races where it was tricky.
“Those sorts of races beyond that, where we had, I would say, some tough weekends where we really saw some things that are hurting us at the moment. It was quite nice, I dare say, getting to Austin and seeing some performance. Now, you know, we have to feel confident for the remaining races, but also humble that it’s really competitive in that midfield. You can see that every time you go on track.”
