Alpine Academy

France Alpine Academy
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002) (as RF1 Driver Programme)
BaseEnstone, Oxfordshire, England
Team principal(s)Julian Rouse (Director)
Current driversAustralia Jack Doohan
FIA Formula 2
France Victor Martins
India Kush Maini
FIA Formula 3
Italy Gabriele Minì
Germany Sophia Flörsch
FR European Championship
Italy Nicola Lacorte
Italian F4
Singapore Kabir Anurag
Japan Kean Nakamura-Berta
F1 Academy & British F4
United Kingdom Abbi Pulling
Karting
Australia Aiva Anagnostiadis
France Angélina Proenca
France Lisa Billard
Italy Maria Chiara Nardelli
United Kingdom Sukhmani Kaur Khera
Websitehttps://www.alpine-cars.co.uk/formula-1/alpine-academy.html

The Alpine Academy,[1] formerly known as the RF1 Driver Programme, Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy, is a driver development programme to support young racing drivers through their careers. The programme was created by Renault F1 in 2002.

In 2011, the programme was renamed LRGP Academy, following the rebranding of the team to "Lotus Renault GP".[2] In 2012, the programme was renamed Lotus F1 Team iRace Professional Programme and 2013–2015, the programme was renamed Lotus F1 Junior Team. In 2021, the programme was renamed Alpine Academy after the rebranding of the Renault F1 team into Alpine F1 Team. In March 2022, the Alpine Affiliates programme was launched as a support to drivers starting their motorsport careers, and is intended to be a feeder for the Alpine Academy.[3] However, it was merged into Alpine Academy at the start of 2023.

Current drivers

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Driver Years Current Series Titles as Alpine junior
France Victor Martins[4] 2018–2019
2021– 		FIA Formula 2 Championship FIA Formula 3 Championship
Australia Jack Doohan[5] 2022– Formula 1 Reserve none as Alpine Academy member
Japan Kean Nakamura-Berta[6] 2022– Formula 4 UAE Championship
Italian F4 Championship
Euro 4 Championship 		CIK-FIA Karting European Championship OK
United Kingdom Abbi Pulling[6] 2022– F1 Academy
F4 British Championship 		none as Alpine Academy member
Germany Sophia Flörsch[7] 2023– FIA Formula 3 Championship none as Alpine Academy member
Italy Gabriele Minì[8] 2023– FIA Formula 3 Championship
FIA Formula 2 Championship 		none as Alpine Academy member
India Kush Maini[9] 2023– FIA Formula 2 Championship none as Alpine Academy member
Italy Nicola Lacorte[10] 2023– Formula Regional Oceania Championship
Formula Regional European Championship 		none as Alpine Academy member
Singapore Kabir Anurag[11] 2024– Formula Winter Series
Italian F4 Championship
Euro 4 Championship 		none as Alpine Academy member

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

[edit]
Driver Years Current Series Titles as Rac(H)er member
Australia Aiva Anagnostiadis[12] 2023– Australia Kart Championship none as Rac(H)er Programme member
France Angélina Proenca[12] 2023– IAME Euro Series none as Rac(H)er Programme member
France Lisa Billard[12] 2023– Championnat de France Junior Championship none as Rac(H)er Programme member
Italy Maria Chiara Nardelli[12] 2023– Italian ACI Karting Championship none as Rac(H)er Programme member
United Kingdom Sukhmani Kaur Khera[12] 2023– British Karting Championship none as Rac(H)er Programme member

Graduates to Formula 1

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This list contains the drivers that have graduated to Formula 1 while being supported by Renault, Lotus Renault, or Alpine. Therefore, drivers who have had support in the past and entered Formula 1 through other means are not included. For example, both Zhou Guanyu and Oscar Piastri were members of the Alpine Academy, however, they broke their ties with the academy to pursue a graduation to Formula 1 with another team.[13][14]

Driver Academy experience F1 experience with Renault/Lotus/Alpine F1 experience with other teams
Years Former series
Finland Heikki Kovalainen 2002–2005 British Formula 3 Championship (2002)
World Series by Nissan (2003–2004)
GP2 Series (2005) 		2007 McLaren (2008–2009)
Team Lotus (2010–2011)
Caterham (2012)
Lotus F1 (2013)
France Romain Grosjean 2006–2009 Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007)
GP2 Asia Series (2008)
GP2 Series (2008–2009) 		2009
2012–2015 		Haas (2016–2020)
Australia Jack Doohan 2022–2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023) 2025– —


Former drivers

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Renault / Lotus Renault GP (2002–2011, 2016–2020)

[edit]
Driver Years Series competed F1 Team(s)
Brazil Fabio Carbone 2002 British Formula 3 Championship (2002) None
Poland Robert Kubica 2002 Italian Formula Renault Championship (2002) BMW Sauber (2006–2009)
Renault (2010)
Williams (2019)
Alfa Romeo (2021)
Portugal Tiago Monteiro 2002 French Formula Three Championship (2002)
International Formula 3000 (2002) 		Jordan (2005)
Midland F1 (2006)
Netherlands Carlo van Dam 2002 Karting (2002) None
France Eric Salignon 2002–2003 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2002)
Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2002)
British Formula 3 Championship (2003) 		None
Finland Heikki Kovalainen 2002–2005 British Formula 3 Championship (2002)
World Series by Nissan (2003–2004)
GP2 Series (2005) 		Renault (2007)
McLaren (2008–2009)
Team Lotus (2010–2011)
Caterham (2012)
Lotus F1 (2013)
United Kingdom Danny Watts 2003 British Formula 3 Championship (2003) None
Argentina José María López 2003–2006 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (2003)
International Formula 3000 (2004)
GP2 Series (2005–2006) 		None
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series (2004) Caterham (2013)
France Loïc Duval 2004–2005 Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005) None
Venezuela Pastor Maldonado 2004–2005 Italian Formula Renault Championship (2004)
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2004)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2005) 		Williams (2011–2013)
Lotus F1 (2014–2015)
Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 2004, 2010 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2004)
Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2004)
GP2 Series (2010)
Formula E 		Virgin Racing (2011)
Lotus F1 (2012)
Brazil Lucas di Grassi[15] 2005–2007 Formula 3 Euro Series (2005)
GP2 Series (2006–2007) 		Virgin Racing (2010)
United Kingdom Ben Hanley[15] 2006–2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2006–2007)
GP2 Series (2008) 		None
France Romain Grosjean[15] 2006–2009 Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007)
GP2 Asia Series (2008)
GP2 Series (2008–2009) 		Renault (2009)
Lotus F1 (2012–2015)
Haas (2016–2020)
Spain Dani Clos[15] 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series (2007) None
France Nelson Panciatici[15] 2007 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2007)
Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2007) 		None
France Charles Pic[16] 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2009) Marussia (2012)
Caterham (2013)
Italy Davide Valsecchi[16] 2009 GP2 Series (2009) None
Czech Republic Jan Charouz 2010–2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2010–11)
Auto GP (2011) 		None
China Ho-Pin Tung 2010–2011 GP2 Series (2010)
Superleague Formula (2011) 		None
Malaysia Fairuz Fauzy 2011 GP2 Series (2011) None
Switzerland Louis Delétraz[17] 2016 GP2 Series (2016)
Formula V8 3.5 Series (2016) 		None
Switzerland Kevin Jörg[17] 2016 GP3 Series (2016) None
United Kingdom Oliver Rowland[17] 2016 GP2 Series (2016) None
China Sun Yueyang[18] 2016–2018 Karting (2016)
Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)
Formula Renault NEC (2017)
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2018) 		None
United Kingdom Jack Aitken[17] 2016–2018 GP3 Series (2016–17)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018) 		Williams (2020)
Spain Marta García 2017 Spanish F4 Championship (2017)
SMP F4 Championship (2017) 		None
Netherlands Jarno Opmeer[19] 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) None
France Sacha Fenestraz[20] 2017–2018 Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018)
GP3 Series (2018) 		None
United Kingdom Max Fewtrell[19] 2017–2020 Formula Renault Eurocup (2017–2018)
Formula Renault NEC (2017–18)
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019–20) 		None
Denmark Christian Lundgaard[21] 2017–2021 SMP F4 Championship (2017)
F4 Spanish Championship (2017)
Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020–2021)
IndyCar Series (2021) 		None
France Arthur Rougier[22] 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup (2018) None
France Anthoine Hubert[23] 2018–2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019)[note 1] None
Italy Leonardo Lorandi[25] 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup (2019) None
China Yifei Ye[26] 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) None
China Guanyu Zhou[27] 2019–2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2021)
F3 Asian Championship (2021) 		Alfa Romeo (2022–2023)
Kick Sauber (2024)
Brazil Caio Collet[28] 2019–2022 Formula Renault Eurocup (2019–2020)
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022) 		None
Australia Oscar Piastri[29] 2020–2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021) 		McLaren (2023–)[30]
France Hadrien David[31] 2020, 2022 Formula Renault Eurocup (2020)
Formula Regional European Championship (2022) 		None
United Kingdom Olli Caldwell[5] 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022) None
Brazil Matheus Ferreira[6] 2022–2023 Italian F4 Championship (2023)
F4 Brazilian Championship (2023) 		None
United Kingdom Aiden Neate[6] 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship (2023)
F4 British Championship (2023) 		None
  • Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Lotus F1 (2012–2015)

[edit]
Driver Years Series competed F1 Team(s)
Denmark Marco Sørensen[32] 2009,
2013–2015 		Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2009)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2009)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2014)
GP2 Series (2014–2015)
FIA World Endurance Championship (2015) 		None
Estonia Kevin Korjus[33] 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012) None
New Zealand Richie Stanaway[33] 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012) None
Colombia Óscar Tunjo[32] 2012–2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2012–2013)
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2012)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2013)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2014)
GP3 Series (2015) 		None
France Esteban Ocon[32] 2012–2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2012–2013)
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2012)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2013)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2014)
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2014) 		Manor (2016)
Force India (2017–2018)
Racing Point Force India (2018)
Renault (2020)
Alpine (2021–2024)
Haas (2025–)
France Dorian Boccolacci[32] 2012–2015 Karting (2012–13)
French F4 Championship (2014)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015) 		None
Switzerland Alex Fontana[32] 2013–2014 GP3 Series (2013–2014) None
Thailand Alexander Albon[32] 2013–2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2013–2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2013–2014)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015) 		Toro Rosso (2019)
Red Bull (2019–2020)
Williams (2022–)
Philippines Marlon Stöckinger[32] 2013–2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2015)
GP2 Series (2015) 		None
South Africa Callan O'Keeffe[34] 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014) 		None
United Kingdom Gregor Ramsay[34] 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014) 		None
United States Juan Manuel Correa[34] 2014–2015 Karting (2014–2015) None
France Matthieu Vaxivière[32] 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015)
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2015) 		None
Czech Republic Petr Ptáček[35] 2015 Karting (2015) None

Alpine F1 (2021–)

[edit]
Driver Years Series competed
Bulgaria Nikola Tsolov[36][37] 2022–2024 F4 Spanish Championship (2022)

FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024)

  • Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

[edit]
Driver Years Series competed
Switzerland Chiara Bättig[38][39] 2023 OK Junior Switzerland

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Hubert was a member of the Renault Sport Academy when he suffered a fatal crash in the 2019 Belgian F2 Feature Race.[24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Howard, Tom (10 February 2021). "Alpine F1 team launches rebranded junior academy". Motorsport.com Australia. Motorsport Network. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Fairuz Fauzy to become Renault reserve". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Alpine launches new 'Affiliate' driver programme". Motorsport Week. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  4. ^ Larkam, Lewis (10 February 2021). "Alpine F1 team reveals Academy line-up for 2021 season". Crash. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Alpine adds Doohan and Caldwell to F1 driver academy". Motorsport Week. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy". Autohebdo (in French). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Alpine's RAC(H)ER programme for equal opportunity announces new talents and the creation of its human high-performance centre". Alpine. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  9. ^ Wood, Ida (24 October 2023). "Mika Hakkinen's protege Kush Maini becomes Alpine F1 junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Alpine adds Nicola Lacorte in its F1 academy". FormulaRapida.net. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ Almeida, Mario (15 April 2024). "Kabir Anurag joins the Alpine Academy programme". Alpine. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Alpine launches all-female karting programme". Racers. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Alfa Romeo announce Guanyu Zhou as Valtteri Bottas's team mate for 2022 | Formula 1®". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  14. ^ Barretto, Lawrence. "EXCLUSIVE: Piastri on joining McLaren, leaving Alpine and making his F1 debut". www.formula1.com. Formula One. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2007 class" (PDF). Renault Sport. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  16. ^ a b "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d Allen, Peter (3 February 2016). "Renault names Ocon as F1 reserve, plus four-man academy". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  18. ^ Khorounzhiy, Valentin (13 April 2016). "Renault signs Chinese karting driver Sun Yue Yang". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  19. ^ a b "Aitken leads 2017 Renault Sport Academy line-up". 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  20. ^ Allen, Peter (18 December 2018). "Sacha Fenestraz loses Renault academy status and looks to Japan for 2019". FormulaScout. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy". 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  22. ^ "French F4 rivals Rougier and Martins become Renault juniors ahead of Eurocup moves". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  23. ^ Horton, Phillip (23 January 2019). "GP3 champion Anthoine Hubert joins Renault F1 scheme, makes F2 move". Motorsport Week. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  24. ^ "F2 driver Hubert killed in Spa-Francorchamps crash". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  25. ^ Suttill, Josh (23 May 2019). "Leonardo Lorandi earns Renault F1 affiliate driver status". formulascout.com. Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  26. ^ Allen, Peter (11 April 2019). "Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  27. ^ "GUANYU ZHOU JOINS THE RENAULT SPORT ACADEMY FOR 2019". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  28. ^ "Renault Sport Academy signs Caio Collet". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Piastri combines with Prema for FIA Formula 3 Championship and joins Renault Sport Academy". 26 January 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  30. ^ "Piastri to drive for McLaren as Alpine lose appeal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Alpine Academy introduces Affiliate programme and Abbi Pulling as the academy's first ever female driver". The Checkered Flag. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h "Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers announced". GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  33. ^ a b Allen, Peter (5 February 2012). "Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme". Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  34. ^ a b c Allen, Peter (2 April 2014). "O'Keeffe and Ramsay join Lotus F1 Junior Team". Paddock Scout. PaddockScout.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  35. ^ "Petr Ptacek Jr avec Lotus F1 Junior Team et Energy en 2015". Kartcom. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  36. ^ Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season
  37. ^ "I would like to thank Alpine Academy". Nikola Tsolov on Instagram. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  38. ^ "Announcement". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 17 February 2023.
  39. ^ "As I continue to prepare for the new racing season". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 29 December 2023.
[edit]
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