Damon Hill drops 5-word reaction to Alpine parting ways with Ollie Oakes with immediate effect

Former F1 driver questioned as he reacted to Alpine's team principal, Oliver Oakes, resigning from the team mid-season. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore took over his duties, and the team made some quick decisions shortly afterwards.

Alpine has gone through significant personnel changes since its rebranding in 2021. The team has already gone under four different team principals in the past four seasons: Otmar Szafnauer, Bruno Famin, Oliver Oakes, and now Flavio Briatore. This has also affected the team's performance on the grid, as there seems to be no consistency in their management.

Flavio Briatore returned to F1 last year with Alpine as their Executive Advisor. Earlier this week, the French outfit announced that their team principal, Oliver Oakes, was resigning and Briatore would take on his duties immediately.

1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill found it hard to believe, considering this was the fourth new team principal the team was set to witness. Reacting to the news, he dropped four words on social media.

"This is a joke, right?" Hill wrote in his Instagram story.

Damon Hill reacts to Alpine's team principal resigning (@96f1champ on Instagram)

Hill then also posted the team statement confirming the news.

"Apparently not!" He clarified.

Hill posts the French team's statement on his Instagram

Right after Briatore took over Oakes' duties, the team made a crucial decision by rotating their drivers.

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Alpine sacks Jack Doohan for Franco Colapinto

Jack Doohan made his full-time debut with the team this season, but hasn't been performing very competitively, failing to score any points in the season so far. The team had also signed Franco Colapinto earlier, who impressed the grid with his part-time performance with Williams Racing in 2024.

Soon after Briatore took control of the French team, they announced swapping Doohan with Colapinto for the upcoming five races as part of their driver assessment.

"As part of an on-going assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship," the team said in a statement.

They revealed that further decisions would be made on the final driver lineup before the British Grand Prix this year.

"BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July."

The team also confirmed that Jack Doohan would remain their primary reserve driver. Colapinto is set to partner with Pierre Gasly for the upcoming races.