(Motorsport-Total.com) – While Flavio Briatore is the face at the top of the Alpine team for most, it is actually Steve Nielsen who holds the reins in the background. The 62-year-old Brit was hired as “Managing Director” after predecessor Oliver Oakes unexpectedly left the team.
Read more New contract at Red Bull: Verstappen’s future in F1 clarified!
For Pierre Gasly, Nielsen is a key figure at Alpine with a positive influence, helping to bring the French team back towards the top: “I really like Steve and what he brings,” emphasizes Gasly, who has had to work with a whole range of people and approaches at Alpine.
For Nielsen, the appointment in Enstone was somewhat a comeback: He was already briefly employed by predecessor team Benetton in the 1990s and after stints at Tyrrell, Honda, and Arrows, he was hired again at Benetton, where as sporting director he accompanied the transition to Renault and Lotus.
“He was at Enstone for many years, experienced the team, and knows most of the people here,” says Gasly. “After that, he went to another organization – with a somewhat different perspective on the sport, but still right in the middle of it.”
Because after further stops at other teams, he was first appointed sporting director of Formula 1 before taking the same position at the FIA in 2023. “I think that brought him an enormous amount of knowledge and experience,” says Gasly.
Read more Lawson back at Red Bull: Why everything is different this time
The current team principals of Formula 1
“And now, back in Enstone in this role, I really feel that he has a very good sense of what we need and what we are building here,” he continues. “He has a good connection with everyone on the team and a clear idea of what we need to change to reach the level we all want.”
When Nielsen took over the team in September 2025, Alpine was at the bottom of the constructors’ standings. A year later, they are now in sixth place and have thus improved. “So I have to say that so far it’s going very positively,” says Gasly.
However, Nielsen’s influence on the new car for 2026 was probably not very high, as he only joined the team in the second half of the year. It should also be mentioned that Alpine has somewhat regressed from being the top teams’ closest challenger during the current season and had to give way to the Racing Bulls.
Gasly knows that patience is required. “As the saying goes: As much as we wish such changes would show effects overnight – it simply takes much longer than we all hope.”
Read more Overview: The Drivers and Teams of the 2027 Formula 1 Season