“I know there’s a lot of emotion there because we are proud to be a works team and we still have a year all together [in 2025], but I do feel that was also a big statement of intent really of where we want to go.
“We’re not here just to be making up the numbers. We want to be pushing forward. I think I was pretty open, maybe too honest when I said, being selfish, I just want the best engine in the back of the car.
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“At the end of the day, for me, we’re here to go racing. I want to be at the front of the grid, I don’t want to be walking to the back. The choice we made was to get the best engine in the back of the car and help the team keep climbing back up the grid.”
When pushed on how Alpine can know that Mercedes will be strong in 2026, Oakes responded: “I think you can’t be dead sure, because nothing in life is a dead cert, but you have to be pragmatic there.
