Nielsen became the FIA’s sporting director in January this year but has abandoned the position due to reportedly becoming “unhappy”.

Reportedly, changes to race operations that were suggested by Nielsen were not implemented by the governing body, who were “not willing” to accept the recommendations.

The sudden exit has come as a shock to F1 drivers and the teams, who were largely supportive of Nielsen being given the role at the start of the year.

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Supposedly, many are “dismayed” at his sudden exit and are now “concerned” as to what’ll now happen.

Nielsen is the second high-profile FIA departure just this month alone, as Deborah Mayer recently quit her position as the governing body’s head of the commission for women.

Mayer and Nielsen departing will likely have sent shockwaves through the FIA, as it leaves them in a poor position ahead of the New Year.

Prior to becoming the FIA’s sporting director, Nielsen had been the sporting director for several F1 teams, including Tyrell, Benetton, Renault and Williams.

He also worked for F1 themselves following Liberty Media’s takeover.

Nielsen’s and Mayer’s abrupt exits come at a time when there is more tension than ever before between the FIA and F1, after F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff was accused of telling Toto Wolff “confidential” information.

The FIA released a shock statement based purely on one report and media speculation, where Susie’s integrity was unbelievably questioned.

Every F1 team jumped to her defence, in what was a huge sign of unity amongst the paddock against the FIA.

READ: Ferrari F1 boss on Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz preference

All the teams made similar statements as they were accused of complaining to the governing body about Susie, something they all categorically denied.

Susie even released her own statement where she admitted that she wasn’t shocked to have her integrity questioned by the governing body, who are potentially set to have legal action taken against them.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem certainly has a lot of cracks to fix in 2024, something which’ll need to happen as soon as possible to reduce the chances of F1 attempting to break away from the governing body.

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Nielsen has been a regular member of the Formula 1 paddock for the vast majority of his life, having previously held roles at Lotus, Tyrrell, Benetton and AlphaTauri.

He most recently held a senior position within Formula One Management (FOM), with the “highly respected” figure having now been snapped up by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

His role at the FIA will certainly be a challenging one, with Nielsen set to be responsible for future updates to Formula 1’s regulations, developing race control, as well as general sporting matters.

READ: Haas question FIA restriction ahead of ban

Speaking about his new position, Nielsen thanked Ben Sulayem and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali for their “trust”, with the former engineer now “looking forward” to the challenges he will face.

“I have spent my professional life working for many teams and organisations in Formula 1, and cannot wait to engage with another new chapter with the FIA,” Nielsen said.

“I’d like to thank both the president and Stefano Domenicali for their trust in me, and I understand and appreciate the unique challenges that come with being the regulator.

“Having worked closely with a number of people in the federation over the years, I’m looking forward to tackling those challenges that lie ahead with them – Formula 1 is in a great place at the moment, and it’s our responsibility to ensure the future health of the sport that is at the heart of everything we do.”

Nielsen isn’t the only person to have changed roles, with Nikolas Tombazis having been promoted from technical director to single-seater director.

The changes have been made by the FIA president with the hope that it’ll improve the smoothness of the FIA’s running of F1, with Ben Sulayem being confident that the tweaks will do just that.

“We have dedicated a lot of time and effort to making significant, informed changes to our F1 team to create the right structure with the right people to oversee the future regulation of the sport,” Ben Sulayem said

“By developing and empowering people within our organisation, as well as bringing in expertise and experience from the outside, I am confident that we are in the best position possible to move forward together with our partners at F1 management and the F1 teams.”

READ: Toto Wolff needs Lewis Hamilton ‘physically back’ ahead of new contract

Going back to Nielsen, Domenicali thanked him for his “hard work and dedication” since joining the FOM and gave his “full support” for the move to take place.

“I want to thank Steve Nielsen for his hard work and dedication over the past five years at Formula 1,” Domenicali said.

“He is a highly respected professional in our sport, and we fully support his move to the FIA. His skills and experience in Formula 1 will assist the FIA in its ongoing efforts to improve their operations during race weekends.”

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COVID laws in the Unites States rule that proof of a negative test taken no more than 24 hours before entry must be shown in order to enter the country, meaning that Freitas and Wittich essentially have until Wednesday to test negative, allowing for around 20 hours of flight time to get to Miami from Europe.

The FIA have called the rumours “unsubstantiated,” and will not pass comment until there is official word about the health of the two race directors, but they will not have a shortage of options to replace them if needs be.

READ: Formula 1 journalist drops bombshell during livestream

Freitas and Wittich were drafted in to replace Michael Masi following a controversial season in 2021 that ended with a hugely controversial Safety Car restart by the Australian, leading Max Verstappen to pass Sir Lewis Hamilton on the very last lap of the Australian Grand Prix to seal the title.

Masi is currently residing in his homeland, and is not considered to be one of the viable options to return, but Eugene Arocca, CEO of motorsports Australia, sympathised with the 44-year-old’s perceivably unfair dismissal, and maintained that he would welcome him back to the Australian governing body with open arms.

“It’s really easy to be a critic on the sidelines thinking what he went through when he was making those decisions,” he said earlier this year. 

“There would be other people that would be completely paralysed in exactly the same circumstances. He made the call. That is the first character trait of a strong leader.

“We would love to tap into his knowledge at any level. He’s just an elite talent that would be wasted to the sport if he’s not used in some capacity, and so we’ll keep an open mind.”

READ: Wolff defends Hamilton after being comprehensively outperformed by Russell

Other potential candidates include Scot Elkins – Formula E race director who took over from Wittich – and Herbie Blash, who has been assisting the two nominated race directors this year, and served as deputy to the late Charlie Whiting for 20 seasons.

Colin Haywood is set to stand in for Blash as deputy in Miami, making him another obvious choice if Wittich and Freitas are unable to attend.

Steve Nielsen holds the sporting director title that Masi was also responsible for while he was race director, and he is understood not to be under consideration for the position.

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