FORMER Alpine boss Oliver Oakes has made a shock return to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix paddock days after handing in his resignation. The Brit, 37, quit his team principal role this month after his brother, a fellow motorsport director, was arrested and charged with “transferring criminal property”. Oakes was spotted behind-the-scenes in the Formula 2 and Formula 3 paddocks in Imola, where he will continue to serve as a director of junior team Hitech GP. His younger brother William, a fellow boss at Hitech, was arrested at Silverstone Park on May 1 after he was found “in possession of a large amount of cash.” Oakes resigned from Alpine two days after the Miami Grand Prix and flew straight to Dubai, rather than travelling with the team back to England. It’s been a hectic month for Alpine, with driver Jack Doohan dropped for Franco Colapinto, who crashed in the first practice session on Friday. Racing director Dave Greenwood has assumed team principal duties, but consultant Flavio Briatore is the de facto boss because he doesn’t hold a required F1 licence. Meanwhile, a third director, Michael William Charles Sanwell-Lewis, has been appointed to the Hitech GP board. While some were surprised to spot Oakes, who only took charge of Alpine in July 2024, he remains committed to Hitech, the team formerly led by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin. Formula 2 and Formula 3 are only invited to support a few F1 weekends a year, so the timing for Oakes is unfortunate. William of Rugby, Warwickshire, was remanded in custody after appearing at Northampton Magistrates' Court on May 3. SunSport has reached out to Hitech for comment.