Alpine's Formula 1 team has been plunged into fresh chaos sparked by executive advisor Flavio Briatore's controversial driver decisions.
The shock, immediate resignation of team principal Oliver Oakes on Tuesday evening comes as Alpine is expected to announce Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan from the next race at Imola.
It is understood that Briatore informed Doohan on Sunday in Miami that he would be replaced, despite previously indicating that Doohan would be kept on until the summer.
And there was no indication that Oakes's exit was coming, so his resignation seems to be a direct reaction to that.
But it is also known that Briatore's driver dealings had already caused friction in the past, and left Oakes compromised.
It was Briatore who courted Colapinto late last year during his Williams part-season, even though Alpine had already signed Doohan to partner Pierre Gasly for 2025.
And it was Briatore's call to pull the trigger on finally signing Colapinto as test and reserve driver, with a view to giving him Doohan's seat either this year or in 2026.
This caused inevitable friction given the leadership dynamic at Alpine, which is reminiscent of the peak Red Bull era where Helmut Marko had almost unlimited decision-making power and Christian Horner was the public face of the team.
Oakes's role as team principal meant it was him rather than Briatore who was forced to rationalise decisions in public he did not make. Oakes became the frontman for things that were either put in place before his arrival (like the decision to axe the engine project and stop being a works team) or were moves that he outright did not agree with.
This included Esteban Ocon's shock early exit at the end of last year before the season finale, another brutal decision taken by Briatore, and of course the fallout as Colapinto's arrival meant Doohan was placed under instant scrutiny.
There was a difference of opinion between Briatore and Oakes over what to do on drivers, with Oakes a staunch supporter of Doohan even if he had some doubt over his ultimate potential - and was himself a fan of Paul Aron, who drove for Oakes's Hitech team in junior categories and became an Alpine junior late last year.
Primarily, though, Oakes was known to feel that the Colapinto saga had undone some of the work that had been undertaken to turn things around at the Enstone team.
Alpine has been beset by self-inflicted chaos and controversy for years and Oakes had been committed to settling it down upon his arrival last August, a few months after Briatore was drafted in by Renault boss Luca de Meo as the most senior figure.
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But as the team worked to prepare Doohan for his rookie season, and even put him in for his debut in the 2024 finale in Abu Dhabi, efforts were effectively undermined by Briatore identifying Colapinto as a necessary signing.
That was in no small part due to the significant potential backing from Latin America that could accompany Colapinto, with Mercado Libre already joining Alpine in early 2025 even when he did not have a race seat.
With Colapinto now set to be announced as Doohan's replacement - albeit with Doohan still kept on as a reserve driver - Briatore has pushed through with his intentions. Oakes's exit cannot be a coincidence, leaving the obvious conclusion that this was the final straw.
In his absence, Briatore will supposedly take on his responsibilities. And this is now a sliding doors moment for the team as while Oakes seemed to have little total decision-making power, he was clearly trying to mould it more to his liking and had made changes to the senior trackside team for the start of 2025.
Briatore led Enstone to world titles in the past. His methods are controversial but his track record is strong - although it comes from a very different era of F1.
And right now, with Alpine no more than a credible midfield team, which seems to be par for the course regardless of who is in charge, its new chapter is just as dramatic, divisive and potentially self-defeating as those that came before.
