The Alpine Formula 1 team is set to announce that paddock veteran Steve Nielsen will become its new team manager.

Nielsen, 60, has worked in F1 since 1986 having initially started as a truck driver for a Formula 1 catering firm.

The Brit has held a number of roles with Lotus, Tyrrell, Honda and Arrows during his time in the series.

However, he is best known for his work with the Benetton team, where he worked with Flavio Briatore.

Briatore, who now holds the title of executive advisor for the Alpine Formula 1 division, is looking for a safe pair of hands following Ollie Oakes’ shock departure from the team in May after the Miami Grand Prix.

Oakes left the team in bizarre circumstances and at the same time as news broke that his brother, William, was charged with transferring criminal property. And while there was no suggestion Oliver Oakes had done anything wrong, he quit his role with the F1 team.

Gilles Carraro, Head of Sporting, Steve Nielsen, F1 Sporting Director

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Briatore has duly turned to Nielsen, who held a similar role for Toro Rosso in 2013 and at Williams in 2014.

Nielsen then worked for F1 as sporting director in August 2017 and joined the FIA in January 2023.

However, he quit the governing body after only 11 months in the position and became the second high-profile departure from the organisation after Deborah Mayer also resigned from her position as head of the FIA’s commission for women.

Motorsport.com understands that the hugely-respected Nielsen will be given the title of team manager, which is likely to take in the responsibility of a traditional F1 team principal and report into Briatore.

Motorsport.com also understands that while talks are progressing between Briatore and Nielsen, the terms over his job title are yet to be agreed, which could cause complications with the FIA.

If Nielsen is indeed to act as team principal, even if he has the title of team manager, he would require to have a valid FIA licence. The situation could become complicated by his previous role with the FIA and his subsequent departure. The circumstances surrounding his exit remain unknown and came during a time of political instability within F1’s governing body.

Shortly after his exit, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem was the subjected of an whistleblower’s unproven accusation that he had interfered with the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP.

NASCAR results from Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City

For the first time, the NASCAR Cup Series is unloaded in Mexico. The road course of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is set to host the Viva Mexico 250.

View Mexico results for the NASCAR Cup Series below.

Mexico Menu
Xfinity: Prac/Qual | Race
Cup: Prac | Qual | Race

Mexico TV Schedule

Shane van Gisbergen and Ryan Preece set the front row. 100 laps of stock car racing are up next…

Mexico
Stage 1 – Report

Laps: 20 (1-20 / 100)

Green flag, Ross Chastain comes from row two and he pulls near even with van Gisbergen into turn one. Shane van Gisbergen leads into turn two. Caution for rain!

The field hits the pit lane for wet weather tires. Chastain wins the race to the pit exit. In a wild move, Buescher and Cindric stay out on slick tires.

Green, Ty Gibbs wins the race into turn one.

Lap 7, Kyle Busch spins under braking! He spins in the back of Justin Haley, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson and others. The caution is out.

Green, Shane van Gisbergen has a run on Gibbs off turn three. He takes the lead away under braking into turn four.

2 to go, Shane van Gisbergen pits from the lead.

Ryan Preece stays out and he takes the stage one win in Mexico City!

Mexico Results (Stage 1) : 1. Ryan Preece; 2. Ryan Blaney; 3. Ross Chastain; 4. Michael McDowell; 5. Todd Gilliland; 6. Erik Jones; 7. Carson Hocevar; 8. Bubba Wallace; 9. Chase Elliott; 10. Daniel Suarez

Mexico
Stage 2 – Report

Laps: 25 (21-45 / 100)

Preece and the rest head for the pit lane. McDowell and Hocevar take over the front row.

Green flag on stage two, Daniel Suarez pulls even with McDowell into turn two. Suarez to the lead!

Ty Gibbs works even with Suarez. He completes the pass for the lead into the stadium section.

Lap 32, Ryan Truex spins, caution.

Green, three wide for the lead into turn one. Gibbs leads van Gisbergen into turn four.

3 to go in stage two, many of the leaders head for the pit lane.

2 to go, Gibbs pits from the lead. Shane van Gisbergen stays out as the team is expecting rain shortly.

Shane van Gisbergen wins stage two in Mexico City!

Mexico Results (Stage 2) : 1. Shane van Gisbergen; 2. Christopher Bell; 3. Alex Bowman; 4. Ryan Blaney; 5. Michael McDowell; 6. Austin Dillon; 7. Chris Buescher; 8. Riley Herbst; 9. Carson Hocevar; 10. Daniel Suarez;

Mexico
Stage 3 – Report

Laps: 55 (46-100 / 100)

Green flag on stage three, Christopher Bell clears Shane van Gisbergen off turn three. van Gisbergen fights back and reclaims the lead with a late dive into the stadium section.

Lap 64, van Gisbergen pits from the race lead. Ty Gibbs is handed the lead.

36 to go, Carson Hocevar is around and stalled in the middle of the track. The caution is out.

Gibbs and others head for the pit lane. Shane van Gisbergen cycles back to the race lead.

Green, Shane van Gisbergen leads Alex Bowman into turn two. Multiple cars tangle behind them, no caution.

15 to go, Bell clears Bowman for 2nd. Shane van Gisbergen leads by 5 seconds.

7 to go, van Gisbergen leads by 10 seconds.

Shane van Gisbergen wins in Mexico City!

Ricky Stenhouse Jr confronts Carson Hocevar in Mexico (Video)

Mexico City
Race Results
June 15, 2025
NASCAR Cup Series

Pos | Driver

1. Shane van Gisbergen

2. Christopher Bell

3. Chase Elliott

4. Alex Bowman

5. Michael McDowell

6. John Hunter Nemechek

7. Chase Briscoe

8. Cole Custer

9. William Byron

10. Chris Buescher

11. Ty Gibbs

12. AJ Allmendinger

13. Bubba Wallace

14. Ryan Blaney

15. Ryan Preece

16. Ross Chastain

17. Erik Jones

18. Austin Cindric

19. Daniel Suarez

20. Tyler Reddick

21. Joey Logano

22. Todd Gilliland

23. Ryan Truex

24. Justin Haley

25. Brad Keselowski

26. Josh Berry

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr

28. Austin Dillon

29. Riley Herbst

30. Noah Gragson

31. Cody Ware

32. Katherine Legga

33. Ty Dillon

34. Carson Hocevar

35. Zane Smith

36. Kyle Larson

37. Kyle Busch

NASCAR Cup Series
Point Standings

Pos | Driver | Wins | Points

1. Kyle Larson
3 Wins

2. Christopher Bell
3 Wins

3. Denny Hamlin
3 Wins

4. William Byron
1 Win

5. Ryan Blaney
1 Win

6. Ross Chastain
1 Win

7. Joey Logano
1 Win

8. Austin Cindric
1 Win

9. Josh Berry
1 Win

10. Shane van Gisbergen
1 Win

11. Chase Elliott
+146

12. Tyler Reddick
+123

13. Bubba Wallace
+57

14. Chase Briscoe
+39

15. Alex Bowman
+22

16. Chris Buescher
+19

— Playoff Cutline —

17. Ryan Preece
-19

18. Michael McDowell
-43

Mexico City
Video Highlights

Links

NASCAR

While the hour began with new hope for Toyota, Ryo Hirakawa leading most of it in the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid after a slow pit stop for the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963, it ended wtih Yifei Ye back at the front in the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P.

In between was a highly entertaining battle that ebbed and flowed with traffic. It culminated with Ye taking the lead in the second Mulsanne chicane and Hirakawa taking station in second. The first factory Ferrari ran third, Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel of the No. 51. Raffaele Marciello holds fourth in the No. 15 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8, and Miguel Molina made it all three Ferraris in the top five.

As Matt Campbell took over the No. 6 PPM 963 from Laurens Vanthoor, what seemed like a solid position at the front suddenly became sixth, just ahead of Alex Lynn in the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R.

Louis Delétraz is back behind the wheel of the No. 199 AO by TF ORECA, and has the car third overall in LMP2, first among the Pro-Am entries. The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA of Jakub Smiechowski had the LMP2 lead over Reshad De Gérus in the No. 9 Iron Lynx-Proton entry.

The No. 48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA of Esteban Masson had just cycled out of the lead with a pit stop. 

Manthey 1st Phorm continued to lead LMGT3 with starter Ryan Hardwick now back in control of the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3R. Simon Mann, who had had a potential penalty for rejoining behind the same safety car in the previous hour hanging over his head, was second in the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.

The No. 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R continued a strong run in third, Charlie Eastwood taking over from Rui Andrade.

“The safety car was really lucky,” explained Andrade. “It came out at a good time for us and put us right in the mix. So far so good. Our car is good, we haven’t made many mistakes, everyone is driving really well, the team is doing a good job. Fingers crossed we can keep this up.”

Akkodis ASP’s No. 78 Lexus RC F GT3 of Finn Gehrsitz ran fourth, ahead of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with Ian James in the cockpit.

Although the racing has been far from tame, the fights are likely to get more intense over the next hour as light fills the sky. Dawn will arrive as race enters its 15th hour.

RESULTS

Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson both have heavy damage early in the NASCAR Mexico City race.

On lap 7 of the scheduled 100 of the June 15 Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Busch lost traction and slid through turn 1, collecting Kyle Larson, Justin Haley, Chase Briscoe, Zane Smith and AJ Allmendinger.

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Haley’s rear bumper was heavily damaged but appears to be able to continue. Busch and Larson have taken their cars to the garage to try and make repairs to get back out on track under NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy.

Briscoe made an unscheduled pit stop but is able to continue. Smith appears to be out of the race.

Larson has significant damage to the right side and Busch has a left rear toe link damaged.

Larson and Busch are scored 36th and 37th, respectively, with Smith in 35th.

The race had caution on lap 1 due to rain, allowing the drivers to put on rain tires as the track continues to be slippery.

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FOLLOW THE RACE: NASCAR Cup Series race at Mexico City: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard for the Viva Mexico 250

What channel is NASCAR Mexico City race on today?

The Viva Mexico 250 is being broadcast nationally via streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Other streaming options for the race include MAX for in-car cameras for each driver.

Kyle Larson age

Kyle Larson is 32 years old. His birthday is July 31, 1992.

Kyle Larson height

Kyle Larson is 5-foot-6.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Mexico City race: Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson crash early

MEXICO CITY — Alex Bowman wasn’t sure he was going to make the trip to Mexico City because of lower back pain suffered in “the hardest hit of my career” at Michigan last week.

As late as Wednesday — the day before he was scheduled to leave for NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series race of the modern era outside the United States — the Hendrick Motorsports driver was so sore he didn’t know if he’d be able to get in the car.

He was still sore after two days of practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, but it was after he got out of his No. 48 Chevrolet and not while he was driving. Bowman said his hit registered 50 G-force.

“I don’t know if on paper that’s the biggest (hit) I’ve ever taken, but it’s the most painful one I’ve ever taken, for sure,” Bowman said Saturday. “Even compared to when I broke my back, it’s way more pain than that was.”

Bowman last Sunday slammed hard into the wall at Michigan in a head-on impact at approximately 150 mph. The hit was so fierce that it lifted the rear wheels in the air. Although nothing was broken, he has severe lower back pain on his right side that shoots into his leg.

The 32-year-old kidded he’s been a bit of a “crash dummy” of late: Bowman missed five races in 2022 with a concussion suffered at Texas, and he broke his back in a 2023 sprint car crash that led Rick Hendrick to ban him from further extracurricular racing.

Although he’s ranked 13th in the Cup Series standings, he didn’t want to miss a race considering the recent slump Bowman is going through. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of the last nine races and has five finishes of 35th or worse.

Even though Bowman made it to Mexico City and says he feels fit enough inside the car, Anthony Alfredo is on standby in case Bowman can’t complete Sunday’s race on the 15-turn, 2.42-mile layout.

Alfredo, a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series, does simulator work for Hendrick Motorsports. He has 42 starts in the Cup Series, including one start earlier this year at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bowman, who qualified 29th, hopes to be able to complete the race.

“The goal is to get all the laps in and go from there,” Bowman said. “It hasn’t been a fun week at all. Wednesday was probably the worst day, but we’re here and ready to go. It’s all in the right side of my lower back and then through my lower right leg. Everything is really tight. It’s all muscular. Definitely a lot of pain.”

SHANE IN THE RAIN

Shane Van Gisbergen won the pole for Sunday’s race in Mexico City in a rain-shortened qualifying session.

The New Zealander got in three qualifying laps and took the top spot with a lap of 93.904 mph to put his No. 88 Chevrolet from Trackhouse Racing out front.

Van Gisbergen proved to be a master of racing on a wet road course in his NASCAR debut when he won on the rain-drenched street course in Chicago in 2023. That victory led to a career change for Van Gisbergen, who was an Australian V8 Supercars champion but made the move to NASCAR after shocking the Cup Series with his Chicago win.

With rain expected Sunday in Mexico City, many believe Van Gisbergen is the favorite to pick up his second career Cup victory.

“I don’t know, that’s your guys’ jobs, but I do know that we will be competitive if we get everything right,” he said. “It’s so hard to know what the car’s going to be like — it’s a different track, how it’s going to be affected by the altitude and the surface. We should be up front. These are the types of tracks I’m good at, so we’ll see.”

But, he added he actually despises racing in the rain despite his superior skills at maneuvering slick surfaces.

“I absolutely hate racing in the rain, but I’m good at it,” he said. “I’d rather it didn’t rain, but if it happens, we put the wets on and go. I just don’t enjoy it. It’s just never fun. You’re always sliding around, and it just turns stuff into chaos. It’s fun to watch, but I don’t really enjoy driving.”

Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing qualified second and was followed by Ross Chastain, Van Gisbergen’s teammate at Trackhouse. Ty Gibbs in fourth was the highest qualifying Toyota driver.