New Alpine boss reveals ‘top priority’ - and sacrifices that must be made

New Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen has detailed his “top priority” following his return to Enstone.

Nielsen, who has spent the last eight years working with F1 themselves, previously worked for Benetton and Renault.

The 61-year-old Briton returned to the Enstone-based squad as a replacement for Oliver Oakes as Alpine’s new team leader last month.

Nielsen made his first appearance in Alpine colours at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and was also present in Azerbaijan.

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’s fortunes.

“We have got great facilities, but the product we’ve put on the track doesn’t reflect the effort of the people here, and the facilities we have here,” Nielsen said in an interview released by Alpine.

“My top priority is to make sure that Enstone produce the best car we can.”

The sacrifices Alpine must make

Nielsen arrives at a beleaguered Alpine team rooted to the very bottom of the constructors’ championship, having scored just 20 points in the first 17 races of 2025.

Alpine are 24 points adrift of ninth-placed Haas, their nearest rivals, and haven’t featured in the top-10 since the Belgian Grand Prix in July.

Nielsen insisted that Alpine’s focus needs to turn to the looming regulation overhaul in 2026 that will see the French manufacturer became a Mercedes power unit customer.

“You have to have an eye on the future. You have to sacrifice short-term success and invest in the future, and we’re going through that at the moment,” he explained.

“I’m 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.

"There are those people that are willing to dig deep, find an extra gear and keep pushing.”

Explaining his reasoning to returning to Alpine, Nielsen added: “The last eight years I wasn’t 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.

“Ultimately that’s why I decided to come back, back to my home if you like, because I missed the cut and thrust of competition. It’s wonderful to be back.” 

Alpine are yet to decide upon their second driver for next season, having announced a new deal for Pierre Gasly, who has scored all 20 of the team's points this year. 

The second seat for 2026 is set to go to either its current occupier, Franco Colapinto, or Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron.