Alpine Academy

Last updated

Flag of France.svg Alpine Academy
Alpine Academy Logo.png
Founded2002;23 years ago (2002) (as RF1 Driver Programme)
Base Enstone, Oxfordshire, England
Team principal(s)Julian Rouse (Director)
Current driversFIA Formula 2
Flag of India.svg Kush Maini
Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Minì
FIA Formula 3
Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Lacorte
Italian F4
Flag of Singapore.svg Kabir Anurag
GB3 Championship
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Abbi Pulling
Karting
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ilie Tristan Crisan
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aiva Anagnostiadis
Flag of France.svg Angélina Proenca
Flag of France.svg Lisa Billard
Flag of Italy.svg Maria Chiara Nardelli
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sukhmani Kaur Khera
Website https://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.

Contents

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

DriverYearsCurrent SeriesTitles as Alpine junior
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Abbi Pulling [4] 2022– GB3 Championship F1 Academy
Flag of Italy.svg Gabriele Minì [5] 2023– FIA Formula 2 Championship none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of India.svg Kush Maini [6] 2023– FIA Formula 2 Championship none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of Singapore.svg Kabir Anurag [7] 2024– Italian F4 Championship
E4 Championship 		none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of Italy.svg Nicola Lacorte [8] 2024– FIA Formula 3 Championship none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Nina Gademan [9] 2025– Formula Winter Series
F1 Academy 		none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ilie Tristan Crisan [10] 2025–Karting (OKJ)none as Alpine Academy member
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Sukhmani Kaur Khera [11] [12] 2025– [note 1] British Karting Championshipnone as Alpine Academy member

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

DriverYearsCurrent SeriesTitles as Rac(H)er member
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Aiva Anagnostiadis [11] 2023–Australia Kart Championshipnone as Rac(H)er Programme member
Flag of France.svg Angélina Proenca [11] 2023–IAME Euro Seriesnone as Rac(H)er Programme member
Flag of France.svg Lisa Billard [11] 2023–Championnat de France Junior Championshipnone as Rac(H)er Programme member
Flag of Italy.svg Maria Chiara Nardelli [11] 2023–Italian ACI Karting Championshipnone as Rac(H)er Programme member

Graduates to Formula 1

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]

DriverAcademy experienceF1 experience with Renault/Lotus/AlpineF1 experience with other teams
YearsFormer series
Flag of Finland.svg 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)
Flag of France.svg Romain Grosjean 2006–2009 Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007)
GP2 Asia Series (2008)
GP2 Series (2008–2009)		 2009
2012–2015 		Haas (2016–2020)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Doohan 2022–2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023) 2024–—

Former drivers

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

DriverYearsSeries competedF1 Team(s)
Flag of Brazil.svg Fabio Carbone 2002 British Formula 3 Championship (2002)None
Flag of Poland.svg Robert Kubica 2002 Italian Formula Renault Championship (2002) BMW Sauber (2006–2009)
Renault (2010)
Williams (2019)
Alfa Romeo (2021)
Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro 2002 French Formula Three Championship (2002)
International Formula 3000 (2002)		 Jordan (2005)
Midland F1 (2006)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Carlo van Dam 2002Karting (2002)None
Flag of France.svg Eric Salignon 2002–2003 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2002)
Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2002)
British Formula 3 Championship (2003)		None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Danny Watts 2003 British Formula 3 Championship (2003)None
Flag of Argentina.svg José María López 2003–2006 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup ( 2003 )
International Formula 3000 (2004)
GP2 Series (2005–2006)		None
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Giedo van der Garde 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series (2004) Caterham (2013)
Flag of France.svg Loïc Duval 2004–2005 Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005)None
Flag of Venezuela.svg 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)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg 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)
Flag of Brazil.svg Lucas di Grassi [15] 2005–2007 Formula 3 Euro Series (2005)
GP2 Series (2006–2007)		 Virgin Racing (2010)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ben Hanley [15] 2006–2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2006–2007)
GP2 Series (2008)		None
Flag of Spain.svg Dani Clos [15] 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series (2007)None
Flag of France.svg Nelson Panciatici [15] 2007 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2007)
Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2007)		None
Flag of France.svg Charles Pic [16] 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2009) Marussia (2012)
Caterham (2013)
Flag of Denmark.svg Marco Sørensen 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2009)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2009)		None
Flag of Italy.svg Davide Valsecchi [16] 2009 GP2 Series (2009)None
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan Charouz 2010–2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2010–11)
Auto GP (2011)		None
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ho-Pin Tung 2010–2011 GP2 Series (2010)
Superleague Formula (2011)		None
Flag of Malaysia.svg Fairuz Fauzy 2011 GP2 Series (2011)None
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Louis Delétraz [17] 2016 GP2 Series (2016)
Formula V8 3.5 Series (2016)		None
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Kevin Jörg [17] 2016 GP3 Series (2016)None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Rowland [17] 2016 GP2 Series (2016)None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Aitken [17] 2016–2018 GP3 Series (2016–17)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018)		 Williams (2020)
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Sun Yueyang [18] 2016–2018Karting (2016)
Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)
Formula Renault NEC (2017)
BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2018)		None
Flag of Spain.svg Marta García 2017 Spanish F4 Championship (2017)
SMP F4 Championship (2017)		None
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jarno Opmeer [19] 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)None
Flag of France.svg Sacha Fenestraz [20] 2017–2018 Formula Renault Eurocup ( 2017 )
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018)
GP3 Series (2018)		None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Max Fewtrell [19] 2017–2020 Formula Renault Eurocup (2017– 2018 )
Formula Renault NEC (2017–18)
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019–20)		None
Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Lundgaard [21] 2017–2020 SMP F4 Championship ( 2017 )
F4 Spanish Championship ( 2017 )
Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020)		None
Flag of France.svg Arthur Rougier [22] 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)None
Flag of France.svg Anthoine Hubert [23] 2018–2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019) [note 2] None
Flag of France.svg Victor Martins [22] 2018–2019 Formula Renault Eurocup (2018, 2019)
Flag of Italy.svg Leonardo Lorandi [25] 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup (2019)None
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yifei Ye [26] 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)None
Flag of Brazil.svg Caio Collet [27] 2019–2020 Formula Renault Eurocup (2019–2020)None
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Guanyu Zhou [28] 2019–2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020) Alfa Romeo (2022–2023)
Kick Sauber (2024)
Flag of France.svg Hadrien David [29] 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup (2020)None
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Oscar Piastri [30] 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship ( 2020 ) McLaren (2023–) [31]

Lotus F1 (2012–2015)

DriverYearsSeries competedF1 Team(s)
Flag of Estonia.svg Kevin Korjus [32] 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)None
Flag of New Zealand.svg Richie Stanaway [32] 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)None
Flag of Colombia.svg Óscar Tunjo [33] 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
Flag of France.svg Esteban Ocon [33] 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–)
Flag of France.svg Dorian Boccolacci [33] 2012–2015Karting (2012–13)
French F4 Championship (2014)
FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015)		None
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Alex Fontana [33] 2013–2014 GP3 Series (2013–2014)None
Flag of Denmark.svg Marco Sørensen [33] 2013–2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2014)
GP2 Series (2014–2015)
FIA World Endurance Championship (2015)		None
Flag of Thailand.svg Alexander Albon [33] 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–)
Flag of the Philippines.svg Marlon Stöckinger [33] 2013–2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2015)
GP2 Series (2015)		None
Flag of South Africa.svg Callan O'Keeffe [34] 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)		None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Gregor Ramsay [34] 2014 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014)
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)		None
Flag of the United States.svg Juan Manuel Correa [34] 2014–2015Karting (2014–2015)None
Flag of France.svg Matthieu Vaxivière [33] 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015)
Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2015)		None
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Petr Ptáček [35] 2015Karting (2015)None

Alpine F1 (2021–)

DriverYearsSeries competedF1 Team(s)
Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Lundgaard [21] 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021)
IndyCar Series (2021)		None
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Guanyu Zhou 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021)
F3 Asian Championship (2021)		 Alfa Romeo (2022–2023)
Kick Sauber (2024)
Flag of Brazil.svg Caio Collet 2021–2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022)None
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Oscar Piastri [30] 2021–2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship ( 2021 ) McLaren (2023–)
Flag of France.svg Victor Martins [36] 2021–2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021– 2022 )
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2023–2024)		None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Olli Caldwell [37] 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022)None
Flag of France.svg Hadrien David [29] 2022 Formula Regional European Championship (2022)None
Flag of Brazil.svg Matheus Ferreira [4] 2022–2023 Italian F4 Championship (2023)
F4 Brazilian Championship (2023)		None
Flag of Japan.svg Kean Nakamura-Berta [4] 2022–2024Karting (2022–2023)
Formula 4 UAE Championship (2024)
Italian F4 Championship (2024)
Euro 4 Championship (2024)		None
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Nikola Tsolov [38] [39] 2022–2024 F4 Spanish Championship ( 2022 )
FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024)		None
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Aiden Neate [4] 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship (2023)
F4 British Championship (2023)		None
Flag of Germany.svg Sophia Flörsch [40] 2023–2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024)None

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

DriverYearsSeries competed
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Chiara Bättig [41] [42] 2023OK Junior Switzerland

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Khera was a member of the Rac(H)er Programme beginning in 2023, and graduated to the Alpine Academy in 2025.
  2. ↑ Hubert was a member of the Renault Sport Academy when he suffered a fatal crash in the 2019 Belgian F2 Feature Race. [24]

References

  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. 1 2 3 4 "Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy". Autohebdo (in French). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Wood, Ida (24 October 2023). "Mika Hakkinen's protege Kush Maini becomes Alpine F1 junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Almeida, Mario (15 April 2024). "Kabir Anurag joins the Alpine Academy programme". Alpine . Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Hitech embark on first-ever assault on Formula Winter Series". Hitech Grand Prix . 30 January 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  10. ↑ Wood, Ida (26 January 2025). "WSK Super Master Series begins with unveiling of new Alpine junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alpine launches all-female karting programme". Racers. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  12. ↑ @AlpineF1Team (18 February 2025). "BWT Alpine Formula One Team is proud to announce Alpine Rac(H)er driver Sukhmani Khera graduates to full-time Alpine Academy member 🙌" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 February 2025– via Twitter.
  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. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy". 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  22. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Renault Sport Academy signs Caio Collet". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "GUANYU ZHOU JOINS THE RENAULT SPORT ACADEMY FOR 2019". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  29. 1 2 "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.
  30. 1 2 "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.
  31. ↑ "Piastri to drive for McLaren as Alpine lose appeal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  32. 1 2 Allen, Peter (5 February 2012). "Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme". Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers announced". GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  34. 1 2 3 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. ↑ Larkam, Lewis (10 February 2021). "Alpine F1 team reveals Academy line-up for 2021 season". Crash. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  37. ↑ "Alpine adds Doohan and Caldwell to F1 driver academy". Motorsport Week. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  38. ↑ Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season
  39. ↑ "I would like to thank Alpine Academy". Nikola Tsolov on Instagram . Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  40. ↑ "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.
  41. ↑ "Announcement". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 17 February 2023.
  42. ↑ "As I continue to prepare for the new racing season". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 29 December 2023.
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