New Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen has detailed his \u201ctop priority\u201d following his return to Enstone.<\/p>\n
Nielsen, who has spent the last eight years working with F1 themselves, previously worked for Benetton and Renault.<\/p>\n
The 61-year-old Briton returned to the Enstone-based squad as a replacement for Oliver Oakes as Alpine<\/a>\u2019s new team leader last month.<\/p>\n Nielsen made his first appearance in Alpine colours at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and was also present in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n Having officially taken over the day-to-day running of Alpine under advisor Flavio Briatore, Nielsen has outlined his short and long-term objectives to turn around the team\u2019s fortunes.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cWe have got great facilities, but the product we\u2019ve put on the track doesn\u2019t reflect the effort of the people here, and the facilities we have here,\u201d Nielsen said in an interview released by Alpine.<\/p>\n \u201cMy top priority is to make sure that Enstone produce the best car we can.\u201d<\/p>\n The sacrifices Alpine must make<\/p>\n Nielsen arrives at a beleaguered Alpine team rooted to the very bottom of the constructors\u2019 championship, having scored just 20 points in the first 17 races of 2025.<\/p>\n Alpine are 24 points adrift of ninth-placed Haas, their nearest rivals, and haven\u2019t featured in the top-10 since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.<\/p>\n Nielsen insisted that Alpine\u2019s focus needs to turn to the looming regulation overhaul in 2026 that will see the French manufacturer became a Mercedes power unit customer.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to have an eye on the future. You have to sacrifice short-term success and invest in the future, and we\u2019re going through that at the moment,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a great believer that you find out more about people when things go badly than when things go well, because you see what people are really made of.<\/p>\n “There are those people that are willing to dig deep, find an extra gear and keep pushing.\u201d<\/p>\n Explaining his reasoning to returning to Alpine, Nielsen added: \u201cThe last eight years I wasn\u2019t at a racing team, I was at F1 and I had a great time at F1, but you miss the highs and lows that come with competition.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately that\u2019s why I decided to come back, back to my home if you like, because I missed the cut and thrust of competition. It\u2019s wonderful to be back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Alpine are yet to decide upon their second driver for next season, having announced a new deal for Pierre Gasly<\/a>, who has scored all 20 of the team’s points this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n