Younger brother of former Alpine Team principal Oliver Oakes arrested days after Jack Doohan sacked

The turmoil surrounding Jack Doohan’s F1 team continues with revelations that the brother of the recently resigned Alpine team principal had been arrested in the UK.

Hours before Jack Doohan was officially demoted on Wednesday from the team - after just six races in his rookie season - Oliver Oakes resigned as the team principal and was replaced by senior adviser Flavio Briatore, who is believed to be behind Doohan’s demotion.

On Friday, it was reported that Oakes’ younger brother William had been arrested the day before and charged with transferring criminal property.

He was arrested near the Silverstone Circuit race track in Northamptonshire, allegedly with a large amount of cash.

The Oakes brothers are co-directors of a Formula 2 and Formula 3 racing team - Hitech Grand Prix.

There is no suggestion that Oliver Oakes is linked to any of the allegations concerning his brother.

Oliver Oakes said he was leaving Alpine for personal reasons, which now appear to be related to the allegations against his brother.

He was a strong supporter of Doohan’s and his exit had been linked to Doohan losing his seat.

Doohan failed to score any points during his short-lived F1 career but released a stoic statement after his demotion became official after days of speculation.

Alpine announced that Doohan will be replaced in the seat by Franco Colapinto, with the Argentine joining Pierre Gasly in pink for next week’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

“I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula One driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream,” Doohan said.

“Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing ... We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those.

“For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”

On Wednesday, championship leader Oscar Piastri expressed his sympathy for his fellow Australian.

“Coming to F1, especially as a rookie under pressure, I do feel sorry for him in some ways,” McLaren driver Piastri told ABC TV from England.

“It’s not been the easiest start to the year for him and I know how hard it is to get to F1 in the first place.

“So I think whatever happens, he can be very proud of the journey so far.”