Former FIA sporting director Nielsen returns to F1 in consultancy role

Nielsen is present in the Bahrain paddock wearing an F1 shirt, although he does not have an official full-time title.

A former policeman, the highly respected Nielsen has been a familiar face in the F1 paddock since the 1980s.

Having started as a truck driver with the MSL catering firm, he worked for Team Lotus, Tyrrell, Benetton/Renault, Honda, Arrows, Caterham, Toro Rosso and Williams, mostly in team manager or sporting director roles.

He left Williams to join F1 as sporting director in August 2017, as one of the first key hirings made under Liberty Media’s ownership by Ross Brawn.

He had a wide brief at F1, getting involved in the development of the sporting regulations as well as having an operational role on race weekends.

He also worked closely with race venues around the world, and was a key player in the efforts to get F1 back on track during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He helped to fill the cancellation-hit calendar with new or long absent venues such as Imola, Nurburgring, Mugello, Qatar and Istanbul, ensuring that the circuits were up to speed and capable of holding races.

Nielsen joined the FIA with F1’s blessing in January 2023 with a similar job title.

The FIA noted at the time that he would “be responsible for overseeing all sporting matters including the ongoing development of race control and the remote operations centre, as well as future updates to the sporting regulations”.

Nielsen spent the season working closely with race director Niels Wittich in race control as part of an ongoing effort to improve the efficiency of its operations.

At the end of his first season he decided not to continue with the FIA and left to set up a consultancy business.

In that capacity he has returned to F1 to undertake similar duties to those he covered previously, albeit not in a full-time role. It’s understood that he will also work with other clients, such as circuits.