Flavia Briatore as leader, Steve Nielsen as managing director—but still no team principal at Alpine? What the division of responsibilities looks like at the Enstone team
No other Formula 1 team has a structure as opaque as Alpine’s: since Oliver Oakes’ departure in May this year, the racing team has been operating with virtually no leadership, with veteran Flavio Briatore taking the reins but not acting as official team principal.
Since the beginning of September, Steve Nielsen has also been involved in the management team: The 61-year-old has since held the role of managing director, which means that, at least outwardly, the organizational chaos is now complete. Within the company, however, there is clarity. “Flavio is the leader,” Nielsen clarifies who is still in charge at Alpine: “I run Enstone and everything that goes with it, and that’s how we move forward. Internally, we are clear about how these responsibilities are divided, and that’s how we handle it.” In short: Nielsen is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Formula 1 team in Enstone, but the actual boss of the racing team, who makes all the important decisions, remains Briatore. Nevertheless, Nielsen will also represent the team externally in the future.
Nielsen knows the team from previous years
The team in Enstone is not unfamiliar to the Briton, as Nielsen has previously worked as sporting director for the racing team, then known as Benetton. “It feels a bit like returning to your old school,” he grins.
“Some areas are immediately familiar, but seem a little smaller than you remember them. At the same time, there are also new things. It’s really nice to be back here. I received a very warm welcome. I’m meeting old acquaintances, but also lots of new faces, which is also good.”
Although Nielsen has not been absent from Formula 1 in the meantime, he has not worked for a specific team in recent years, but rather in the management of Formula 1 itself, both for the FIA and for rights holder Liberty Media.
Nielsen admits: “There is a lot to learn”
A large part of his work now consists of “getting back up to speed and understanding everything that has changed in a racing team over the last eight years,” emphasizes Nielsen, who has also worked for Lotus and Tyrrell. “There are a lot of innovations.”
This includes, above all, the budget cap, which was decided by the FIA in 2021. “This is particularly interesting for me because I was involved in the initial discussions on the other side,” grins the 61-year-old Brit. “Being on the ‘receiving’ side now is a completely new experience. So there’s a lot to learn, even for me.“
The first impression after a few weeks is positive: ”Enstone is a great place with a lot of talent,“ says Nielsen. But ”at the moment, what we’re showing on the track doesn’t reflect the capabilities of the people or the quality of the facilities. Our job is to change that.”
Flavi Briatore has “left behind a certain amount of work to be done”
However, this poses a considerable challenge, because Briatore has “left behind a certain amount of work to be done,” according to expert Ralf Schumacher on Sky. Although the team was initially on a promising course under the Italian’s leadership, “the whole thing is now slipping away from him a bit.”
“Also the squabbling with the drivers,” Schumacher recalls the open driver discussion. “Somehow I believe that [Briatore] now has a management style that is perhaps no longer entirely up to date. That’s why I hope that [Nielsen] really is the new strong man who can take over from here.”
