Alpine announces Nielsen as F1 team managing director

The Alpine Formula 1 team has completed the signing of Steve Nielsen, who will take up the role of managing director at the Enstone squad.

As previously reported by Autosport, Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore had identified his former Benetton and Renault colleague and respected paddock veteran Nielsen as the ideal replacement for Oliver Oakes as a team leader.

That signing has now been finalised with the 61-year-old taking up the role of managing director of the squad.

The team says Nielsen will start on 1 September and will oversee the day-to-day running of the team, reporting into Briatore.

Nielsen was Renault’s sporting director when the squad last won F1 world championships in 2005 and 2006 with Fernando Alonso. He also worked for the likes of Team Lotus, Tyrrell, Honda, Arrows, Caterham, Toro Rosso and Williams, and more recently moved to roles with the FIA and FOM.

Alpine also announced it has made other senior signings, with senior aerodynamicists Kris Midgley returning to his former squad from Ferrari to become Head of Aerodynamic Development. Midgley was principal aerodynamicist at Ferrari, which he joined after a stint at Enstone between 2007 and 2013.

Meanwhile, Guy Martin, the former Head of Sponsorships Europe at Visa, joins the team as its new Global Marketing Director.