Nielsen sporting director of Caterham F1 in 2012
Steve Nielsen will join Team Lotus at the end of the year as sporting director, the British team announced on its website. Nielsen was working for the Lotus Renault team at the beginning of the season, but he decided to step down and leave the team during the season. He will therefore be the sporting director of the Caterham F1 team starting in 2012.
Steve Nielsen will replace Dieter Gass as Sporting Director of Team Lotus from December 12 – the team will become Caterham F1 next year. The former sporting director of LRGP had left the team this year and it didn’t take long for him to find a new position in Formula 1.
Tony Fernandes, the director of Team Lotus, expressed his delight at Nielsen’s arrival because he had already approached him in 2010 without success at the time.
“I first met Steve in 2010 and offered him a position which he ultimately declined, so I am thrilled that he has finally decided to join us,” Tony Fernandes shared.
The director of the Hingham team expressed satisfaction with the attractiveness of his team, even among people working in larger organizations than Team Lotus.
“It’s a good thing for our team to be able to attract people of Steve’s caliber and I am really delighted that someone so respected, coming from a team that is ahead of us in many areas, shares our desire for development, and in due time, to shake up the midfield hierarchy,” added Fernandes.
Mike Gascoyne, the technical director of Team Lotus, is delighted at the prospect of working again with Nielsen, whom he worked with at Tyrrell and Renault, among others.
“It’s excellent news for the team that Steve has agreed to join us as Sporting Director. I have worked with him in the past both at Tyrrell and Renault where we worked together to turn them into world championship-winning teams, and that is what we aim to do with Team Lotus,” Gascoyne said.
