Former FIA aero chief officially joins Alpine in senior F1 role

Former FIA head of aerodynamics Jason Somerville has officially joined the Alpine Formula 1 team after completing six months of gardening leave.

As FIA head of aero Somerville resigns amid Alpine F1 links, Somerville agreed a deal to join Alpine and then served a six-month notice period before joining his new employer.

With that gardening leave period having now concluded, during which Somerville was still active for the FIA but working on non-sensitive projects away from F1, the Briton has now started his new job at the Alpine F1 team, taking on the newly-created role of deputy technical director, reporting into technical chief David Sanchez.

At Alpine Somerville is reunited with managing director Steve Nielsen, with the pair having worked alongside each other at both the FIA and F1 management. Somerville served as the FIA’s head of aero since February 2022, joining from performing a similar role at FOM. He previously completed stints in the aero departments of Williams, Toyota and Lotus.

“I am really excited to be returning to Enstone and working with Flavio, Steve, and David in this new role,” Somervile said. “I have been away from the competitive side of motorsport within a team environment for a few years now and I’m relishing the opportunity to be back in the thick of it, hunting milliseconds and fighting our rivals for points and hopefully silverware.

“I am looking forward to getting underway and joining the superb team of engineers, designers, and aerodynamicists at the factory and hopefully contributing to some of the team’s success in the not too distant future.”

As the FIA’s head of aero Somerville was one of several key people playing an important part in defining F1’s new 2026 regulations. Upon his resignation the FIA shared his previous duties among various personnel, including the FIA’s head of single-seaters Jan Monchaux. But it is understood the governing body has also made key recruitments in recent months to further bolster its London-based aerodynamic team.

Alpine has started the 2026 season on the front foot after dedicating all of last year to its development plan for the new regulations. After four rounds the Enstone-based team occupies fifth place in the constructors’ standings as the leading midfield outfit, with drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto having combined for 23 points.

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– The Autosport.com Team