“Patience, common sense and consistency” needed to turn Alpine around

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen says the Enstone-based team needs “patience, common sense and consistency” for the foreseeable future as it tries to find its way back to the front in Formula 1. 

Nielsen arrived at Alpine in September to take on the managing director role left vacant by Oliver Oakes, who suddenly departed the team in early May after the Miami Grand Prix. 

His arrival also meant a reunion with Flavio Briatore, who had come onboard in June 2024 as executive advisor and the de facto leader of Alpine, in what became the latest major change in a long line of management reshuffles at the top of the organisation. 

As Alpine’s management structure appears to have settled, Nielsen believes it is now time for the team to develop through a long and lasting period of stability, although he recognises that such a luxury is hard to obtain in F1. 

“There’s been too many changes over the last few years at Enstone,” he said. “I don’t criticise any of my predecessors, but it’s time for patience, common sense, and consistency. We want the team to be better, and patience and Formula 1 don’t go well together, but that’s the task.” 

Briatore has stated more than once this year that Alpine needs to have a competitive season in 2026 and challenge for podiums amid the revised regulations that will come into place. Next year, the team will also move to a customer deal with Mercedes for its power units. 

Nielsen seemed to put a halt to that, as he warned that there are no “magic bullets” in F1, with Alpine facing a slow reconstruction process. 

“We have to spend the next few years building, and it’s a slow, grinding process,” he said. “It’s F1, there are no magic bullets. You just have to fix a million details – in place, people. More than anything, it’s a people business. So, I’ve kind of relearned that lesson, if you like.” 

Nielsen acknowledged earlier this month while speaking to Autosport that the team was caught by surprise by how its midfield rivals continued to improve their cars during the 2025 campaign. In contrast, Alpine decided to stop development by June, which left the team last in the constructors’ championship with a third of the points of the next team in the standings. 

However, he was adamant that Alpine still has the passion needed to bounce back from its current form, as he again stressed the need for consistency. 

“It’s a cliche, but it’s a racing team,” he said. “It’s full of people with racing spirit. It’s had mixed results recently, but I think there’s a passion and a will to put it back to where it has been in the past. 

“The dedication is huge, from the top to the bottom of the company. It’s my job to coordinate that, strengthen the areas that are good, strengthen the areas where we are weak, and bring some common sense and consistency to the management.” 

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