 Alpine Academy | |
| Founded: | (as RF1 Driver Programme) |
| Base: | Enstone, Oxfordshire, England |
| Principal: | Julian Rouse (Director) |
| Current Drivers: | FIA Formula 2 Victor Martins Kush MainiFIA Formula 3  Gabriele MinìSophia Flörsch FR European Championship Nicola Lacorte Italian F4  Kabir Anurag  Kean Nakamura-Berta F1 Academy & British F4  Abbi PullingKarting  Aiva Anagnostiadis Angélina Proenca Lisa Billard Maria Chiara Nardelli 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.
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.
| Driver | Titles as Alpine junior | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Martins[4] | 2018–2019 2021– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | FIA Formula 3 Championship | |
| Jack Doohan[5] | 2022–2024 | Formula 1 Reserve | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Kean Nakamura-Berta[6] | 2022– | Formula 4 UAE Championship Italian F4 Championship Euro 4 Championship | CIK-FIA Karting European Championship OK | |
| Abbi Pulling | 2022– | F1 Academy F4 British Championship | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Sophia Flörsch[7] | 2023– | FIA Formula 3 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Gabriele Minì[8] | 2023– | FIA Formula 3 Championship FIA Formula 2 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Kush Maini[9] | 2023– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Nicola Lacorte[10] | 2023– | Formula Regional Oceania Championship Formula Regional European Championship | none as Alpine Academy member | |
| Kabir Anurag[11] | 2024– | Formula Winter Series Italian F4 Championship Euro 4 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member |
| Driver | Titles as Rac(H)er member | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiva Anagnostiadis[12] | 2023– | Australia Kart Championship | none as Rac(H)er Programme member | |
| Angélina Proenca | 2023– | IAME Euro Series | none as Rac(H)er Programme member | |
| Lisa Billard | 2023– | Championnat de France Junior Championship | none as Rac(H)er Programme member | |
| Maria Chiara Nardelli | 2023– | Italian ACI Karting Championship | none as Rac(H)er Programme member | |
| Sukhmani Kaur Khera | 2023– | British Karting Championship | none as Rac(H)er Programme member |
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 | |||||
| data-sort-value="KOV" |  Heikki Kovalainen | 2002–2005 | British Formula 3 Championship (2002) World Series by Nissan (2003–2004) GP2 Series (2005) | McLaren (–) Team Lotus (–) Caterham Lotus F1 | ||
| data-sort-value="GRO" | Romain Grosjean | 2006–2009 | Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007) GP2 Asia Series (2008) GP2 Series (2008–2009) | – | Haas (–) | |
| data-sort-value="DOO" | Jack Doohan | 2022–2024 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023) | – | ||
| Driver | Years | F1 Team(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Guanyu Zhou | 2021 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021) F3 Asian Championship (2021) | Alfa Romeo (2022–2023) Kick Sauber (2024) |
 Caio Collet | 2021–2022 | FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022) | None |
| Oscar Piastri | 2021–2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021) | McLaren (2023–) |
| Hadrien David | 2022 | Formula Regional European Championship (2022) | None |
| Olli Caldwell | 2022 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022) | None |
| Matheus Ferreira | 2022–2023 | Italian F4 Championship (2023) F4 Brazilian Championship (2023) | None |
| Nikola Tsolov[35] [36] | 2022–2024 | F4 Spanish Championship (2022) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024) | None |
| Aiden Neate | 2023 | Formula Regional Middle East Championship (2023) F4 British Championship (2023) | None |
