FIA Sporting Director Steve Nielsen Resigns: Leaving F1 Drivers ‘Dismayed

FIA Sporting Director Steve Nielsen resigns after less than a year in the job.

Steve Nielsen was appointed as sporting director only in January 2023 to bring improvements to race control operations after the controversies in recent years.

The rumour has it that Nielsen resigned because he was unhappy that the changes he intended to bring to improve race control operations were not approved by the authorities. And these sparked controversies all around the F1 world.

Nielsen had previously worked as sporting director for the Tyrell, Benetton, Renault, and Williams F1 teams. He then worked for Formula 1 after its takeover by Liberty Media.

Nielsen was backed by the whole grid when he was announced as sporting director earlier this year. His resignation means the drivers will be dismayed and might be about to come in next.

Nielsen’s departure makes him the second senior roleholder to leave his position within a week.
Last week, Deborah Mayer resigned from her position as head of the FIA’s Commission for Women. And all of these come as shocks, as they were doing their jobs pretty well, and there were no indications whatsoever that they could even resign.

The resignations come in the wake of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem finding himself caught in the latest of a series of controversies since he was elected in December 2021.

Earlier this month, the FIA launched an open investigation into Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff and his wife Susie Wolff, the F1 Academy director, with the accusation of passing confidential information to an F1 team principle.

The accusation was denied by all the F1 teams, including Toto Wolff and Susie Wolf. Two days after announcing the investigation, the FIA put out a second statement saying the inquiry had been concluded. And rumours say Nielsen’s departure is related to this case.