Alpine decision timeline for F1 team boss revealed with Flavio Briatore future clarified

Alpine is aiming to have its new team leader figure decision made by the F1 summer break at the start of August.

The Enstone-based team has been without a team principal since immediately after May’s Miami Grand Prix, with Oli Oakes resigning for personal reasons.

Alpine closing in on new team management appointment

For administrative purposes, racing director Dave Greenwood has fulfilled the role of dedicated responsible person for the Alpine team in the races since Miami as the squad began its search for a new team leader.

Flavio Briatore, who has been executive advisor under Renault CEO Luca de Meo over the last year, is overseeing this search and, as revealed by PlanetF1.com after the Spanish Grand Prix, Steve Nielsen is understood to be the leading candidate for the position.

Briatore’s own future has also come into the spotlight in recent weeks, following the announcement by Renault that De Meo will leave his position as CEO on July 15th.

However, the Italian’s contract with Renault will see him continue in his role as executive advisor to the CEO when De Meo’s successor is announced.

It has not yet been decided within the French organisation who will succeed De Meo, although an internal promotion is the more likely route.

There had also been question marks over whether Renault’s own interest in Formula 1 may dwindle, given that a new CEO may have a different opinion on the value of Formula 1 to the brand.

Sources have indicated to PlanetF1.com that the board at Renault has reaffirmed its commitment to the Alpine F1 team, with no fears over the outfit potentially being put up for sale once a new CEO is in place.

With the future of the Enstone squad and Briatore apparently secure, the next quest is nailing down Oakes’ successor in the team leadership role.

Nielsen has been working as a consultant with F1 since early 2024 after departing the FIA. He had worked as the governing body’s sporting director for 11 months and, previously worked as F1’s sporting director as well as having stints with Arrows, Tyrrell, and Honda.

On the competition side, Nielsen’s longest tenure has been under Briatore, with stints at Benetton in the mid-1990s and at Renault/Lotus between 2001 and 2011.

Alpine is understood to be eager to have secured its next team leader by the F1 summer break, which begins after August’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but there are still some hurdles for the team to clear.

Due to his access to sensitive technical, sporting, and operational information over his recent spells with F1 and the FIA, Nielsen faces at least six months of mandatory gardening leave before taking up such a role with Alpine.

This is standard protocol for personnel moving from the FIA/FOM back to a team, as agreed with all the teams, with recent examples of others being required to serve such time-outs including Peter Bayer (who joined Racing Bulls after his FIA stint), Tim Goss (likewise), and Pat Symonds (who joined Cadillac from F1).

There is also scrutiny in the form of the FIA’s fit and proper persons test, which is a requirement of the governing body for senior personnel across teams. This test applies to specific job titles such as team principal, sporting/technical directors, team managers, and two race engineers.

It’s understood that Alpine’s negotiations with Nielsen are on the proviso of a currently undefined job title, with the exact nature and description of his role yet to be fully fleshed out beyond that of a senior management position.