Steve Nielsen didn’t stay long with Caterham as he joined the team at the end of the 2011 season from Lotus Renault GP. It was with the Enstone team that the Briton spent a large part of his career, dating back to the Benetton days.<\/p>\n
If he decides to leave his position in such a short time, it’s because he believes that the team does not have the growth potential he envisioned last year. At the time, Tony Fernandes stated: \u00ab I first met Steve in Singapore in 2010 and offered him a job which he refused. So I’m delighted that he finally chose to join us. It’s a good sign that our team is able to attract people of Steve’s caliber and I am absolutely thrilled that someone so respected and coming from a team ahead of us in so many areas shares our belief in our ability to grow and ultimately challenge the midfield. \u00bb<\/p>\n
After joining Mike Gascoyne at Caterham, he might decide to join another of his former winning partners, namely Bob Bell. The latter now works at Mercedes, which seems to be trying to recruit all the former directors from other teams in order to climb up the rankings.<\/p>\n
It is now up to the new team director, the Frenchman Cyril Abiteboul, to determine if replacing Steve Nielsen is necessary or if he will choose to implement another structure that will allow the team to truly take off after three years of existence and move closer to the middle of the pack.<\/p>\n