Alpine boss announces new team arrival for Monza

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore has confirmed a new arrival at the F1 team ahead of Monza.

The Enstone-based team have weathered instability in 2025, when team principal Oliver Oakes left the team abruptly in May, and Alpine were left without a senior figure to lead the team on a daily basis.

In July, Alpine announced they had signed Steve Nielsen as their managing director, who will oversee the day-to-day running of the team and report to Briatore.

When asked what Nielsen’s number one job will be at Alpine when he arrives, Briatore detailed his expectations for his new director and that he will arrive ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

“Not just job number one. When you’re in Formula 1, in one team, it’s a job for the team. And it will be good,” Briatore said during Friday’s team principal press conference at the Dutch Grand Prix.

“I’ve known Steve a long time – he was with me at Renault. We need somebody like Steve. We need a team manager. We need somebody who knows the system and knows the people, and someone who coordinates the team from A to Z.

“It’s not just one job I expect from Steve. I expect Steve to be in charge from A to Z. Basically, it’s what the managing director is doing. And I’m happy to have Steve next week. I believe the first day is Monday, and our first race with Steve is in Monza.”

Who is Alpine’s new director Steve Nielsen?

Nielsen will leave his position as chief motorsports operation officer for F1 to return to Enstone, after spending their championship winning years — when they were known as Renault — from 2005 and 2006 as their sporting director.

The 61-year-old also worked at the team under the Lotus and Benetton name, and has experience at Tyrrell, Honda, Toro Rosso and Arrows.

Nielsen became the FIA's sporting director in January 2023, but left the governing body 11 months into the position.

Nevertheless, Nielsen has a monumental task ahead of him to lift Alpine from the bottom of the pack, with the regulation changes offering a major opportunity for the team.

In 2026, Alpine will also cease to use their Renault works engine and instead will become a customer team to Mercedes, in a huge transition for the team.

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