Pierre Gasly explains where Steve Nielsen’s focus needs to be ahead of Alpine arrival

Pierre Gasly has pinpointed the key area in which he expects to see Alpine’s incoming new Managing Director Steve Nielsen making an impact ahead of his arrival at the squad on September 1.

Following the departure of Oliver Oakes from the position of Team Principal back in May, the squad’s Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has been covering the duties previously performed by Oakes.

However, it was announced in July that the Enstone-based outfit have recruited Nielsen to oversee the day-to-day running of Alpine as of September.

It marks a return to the team for Nielsen, who enjoyed stints with the squad under their previous guises as Benetton, Renault and Lotus. The Briton has also worked for teams such as Tyrrell, Honda, Toro Rosso and Arrows, as well as spending time at governing body the FIA.

Nielsen leaves his role as Chief Motorsports Operations Officer, Sporting, at commercial rights holder F1 to take up his new position at Alpine, and Gasly believes that his focus will need to be on the 2026 season when he arrives.

“The reality of it is the car has been the same since Barcelona and will remain the same until the end of the year,” the French driver explained during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. “On one side, you’ve got to be objective and realistic on what’s achievable.

“Steve will arrive in September, and I think his impact and his work will be mainly seen on 2026 and beyond. Honestly, Steve’s got to focus on next year. We know all the work that we are putting for 2026. We are pleased with what we are doing and the evolution.

“I’m confident. I believe in the team and the fact that they’ll be able to give me a competitive car next year.”

Alpine have faced a challenging 2025 campaign so far, with their tally of 20 points putting them at the bottom of the Teams’ Championship standings.

As such, Gasly believes that it would be tough for the outfit to turn things around during the final 10 races of the year.

“The reality of it is this season, this is what we have, and it’s going to be extremely difficult to change the position that we are in,” the 29-year-old said.

“It doesn’t mean we are doing a bad job at the track or back at the factory. We just haven’t been able to produce a car, in a season where the midfield is extremely tight, with the decisions we’ve made for ’26.

“We haven’t been able to provide enough performance to fight for better than that, which is fine because at the end of the day, whether you finish ninth or eighth or 10th in the championship, you’re still fighting for nothing pretty much.

“But if it gives you a car that can fight for race wins, podiums, top five next season, I’ll take that every day of the week.”