Alpine Academy Explained

Alpine Academy
Founded:	RF1 Driver Programme Renault Sport Academy Alpine Academy
Base:	Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Principal:	Julian Rouse (Director)
Current Drivers:	Jack Doohan FIA Formula 2 Victor Martins Kush Maini FIA Formula 3 Nikola Tsolov Gabriele Minì Sophia Flörsch FR European Championship Nicola Lacorte Italian F4 Kabir Anurag Kean Nakamura-Berta F1 Academy & British F4 Abbi Pulling Karting 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.

Current drivers

Driver			Titles as Alpine junior
Victor Martins^[4]	2018–2019 2021–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	FIA Formula 3 Championship
Jack Doohan^[5]	2022–	TBA	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
Nikola Tsolov^[7]	2022–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	F4 Spanish Championship
Sophia Flörsch^[8]	2023–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Gabriele Minì^[9]	2023–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kush Maini^[10]	2023–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Nicola Lacorte^[11]	2023–	Formula Regional Oceania Championship Formula Regional European Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kabir Anurag^[12]	2024–	Formula Winter Series Italian F4 Championship Euro 4 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

Driver			Titles as Rac(H)er member
Aiva Anagnostiadis^[13]	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

Former drivers

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

Driver	Years		F1 Team(s)
Fabio Carbone	2002	British Formula 3 Championship (2002)	None
Robert Kubica	2002	Italian Formula Renault Championship (2002)	BMW Sauber (2006–2009) Renault (2010) Williams (2019) Alfa Romeo (2021)
Tiago Monteiro	2002	French Formula Three Championship (2002) International Formula 3000 (2002)	Jordan (2005) Midland F1 (2006)
Carlo van Dam	2002	Karting (2002)	None
Eric Salignon	2002–2003	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2002) Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2002) British Formula 3 Championship (2003)	None
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)
Danny Watts	2003	British Formula 3 Championship (2003)	None
José María López	2003–2006	Formula Renault V6 Eurocup (2003) International Formula 3000 (2004) GP2 Series (2005–2006)	None
Giedo van der Garde	2004	Formula 3 Euro Series (2004)	Caterham (2013)
Loïc Duval	2004–2005	Formula 3 Euro Series (2004–2005)	None
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)
Jérôme d'Ambrosio	2004, 2010		Virgin Racing (2011) Lotus F1 (2012)
Lucas di Grassi	2005–2007	Formula 3 Euro Series (2005) GP2 Series (2006–2007)	Virgin Racing (2010)
Ben Hanley	2006–2008	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2006–2007) GP2 Series (2008)	None
Romain Grosjean	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)
Dani Clos^[14]	2007	Formula 3 Euro Series (2007)	None
Nelson Panciatici	2007	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2007) Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2007)	None
Charles Pic^[15]	2009	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2009)	Marussia (2012) Caterham (2013)
Davide Valsecchi	2009	GP2 Series (2009)	None
Jan Charouz	2010–2011	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2010–11) Auto GP (2011)	None
Ho-Pin Tung	2010–2011	GP2 Series (2010) Superleague Formula (2011)	None
Fairuz Fauzy	2011	GP2 Series (2011)	None
Louis Delétraz	2016	GP2 Series (2016) Formula V8 3.5 Series (2016)	None
Kevin Jörg	2016	GP3 Series (2016)	None
Oliver Rowland	2016	GP2 Series (2016)	None
Sun Yueyang^[16]	2016–2018	Karting (2016) Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) Formula Renault NEC (2017) BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2018)	None
Jack Aitken^[17]	2016–2018	GP3 Series (2016–17) FIA Formula 2 Championship	Williams (2020)
Marta García	2017	Spanish F4 Championship (2017) SMP F4 Championship (2017)	None
Jarno Opmeer	2017	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)	None
Sacha Fenestraz^[18]	2017–2018	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018) GP3 Series (2018)	None
Max Fewtrell^[19]	2017–2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017–2018) Formula Renault NEC (2017–18) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019–20)	None
Christian Lundgaard^[20]	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
Arthur Rougier^[21]	2018	Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)	None
Anthoine Hubert^[22]	2018–2019	FIA Formula 2 Championship	None
Leonardo Lorandi^[23]	2019	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019)	None
Yifei Ye^[24]	2019	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)	None
Guanyu Zhou^[25]	2019–2021	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2021) F3 Asian Championship (2021)	Alfa Romeo (2022–2023) Kick Sauber (2024)
Caio Collet^[26]	2019–2022	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019–2020) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022)	None
Oscar Piastri^[27]	2020–2021	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021)	McLaren (2023–)^[28]
Hadrien David^[29]	2020, 2022	Formula Renault Eurocup (2020) Formula Regional European Championship (2022)	None
Olli Caldwell	2022	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022)	None
Matheus Ferreira^[30]	2022–2023	Italian F4 Championship (2023) F4 Brazilian Championship (2023)	None
Aiden Neate	2023	Formula Regional Middle East Championship (2023) F4 British Championship (2023)	None

• Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Lotus F1 (2012–2015)

Driver	Years		F1 Team(s)
Marco Sørensen	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
Kevin Korjus^[31]	2012	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)	None
Richie Stanaway	2012	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)	None
Óscar Tunjo	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
Esteban Ocon	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–)
Dorian Boccolacci	2012–2015	Karting (2012–13) French F4 Championship (2014) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015)	None
Alex Fontana	2013–2014	GP3 Series (2013–2014)	None
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–)
Marlon Stöckinger	2013–2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2015) GP2 Series (2015)	None
Callan O'Keeffe	2014	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)	None
Gregor Ramsay	2014	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)	None
Juan Manuel Correa^[33]	2014–2015	Karting (2014–2015)	None
Matthieu Vaxivière	2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015) Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2015)	None
Petr Ptáček^[34]	2015	Karting (2015)	None

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

See also

• Alpine F1 Team

External links

• Renault Formula One Official website - Renault Sport Academy

Notes and References

1. Web site: Howard. Tom. 2021-02-10. Alpine F1 team launches rebranded junior academy. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210214201730/https://au.motorsport.com/fia-f2/news/alpine-launches-rebranded-driver-academy/5374497/ . 2021-02-14 . 2021-02-10. Motorsport.com Australia. Motorsport Network. en.
2. News: Fairuz Fauzy to become Renault reserve. 19 January 2011. 19 January 2011. formula1.com. Formula One Administration.
3. News: Alpine launches new 'Affiliate' driver programme. 9 March 2022. 9 March 2022. Motorsport Week.
4. Web site: 2021-02-10. Larkam. Lewis. Alpine F1 team reveals Academy line-up for 2021 season. 2021-02-10. Crash. en.
5. Web site: 2022-02-14 . Alpine adds Doohan and Caldwell to F1 driver academy . 2022-05-23 . Motorsport Week . en-GB.
6. Web site: 2023-02-14. Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy . 2023-02-14. Autohebdo. fr.
7. https://www.fiaformula3.com/Latest/5zPRKSafty78mgYZugp1XQ/mini-and-tsolov-join-alpine-academy-for-2023-season Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season
8. Web site: 2023-02-16. Alpine's RAC(H)ER programme for equal opportunity announces new talents and the creation of its human high-performance centre. 2023-02-16. Alpine.
9. Web site: Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season . 2024-07-18 . FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website . en.
10. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2023-10-24 . Mika Hakkinen's protege Kush Maini becomes Alpine F1 junior . 2023-10-24 . Formula Scout . en-US.
11. Web site: 2023-12-04 . Alpine adds Nicola Lacorte in its F1 academy . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231205141715/https://formularapida.net/alpine-adds-nicola-lacorte-in-its-f1-academy/ . 2023-12-05 . 2023-12-04 . FormulaRapida.net . en-US.
12. Web site: Almeida . Mario . 15 April 2024 . Kabir Anurag joins the Alpine Academy programme . 15 April 2024 . Alpine.
13. Web site: 2023-02-17 . Alpine launches all-female karting programme . 2023-06-21 . Racers . en.
14. Web site: The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2007 class . 14 February 2007 . . 14 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070216195313/http://www.renault.com/renault_com/en/images/13351%2013351_RDD_GB_tcm1120-565187.pdf . February 16, 2007 .
15. Web site: The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class. 19 January 2009. f1technical.net. 14 February 2015.
16. News: Renault signs Chinese karting driver Sun Yue Yang. Khorounzhiy. Valentin. 13 April 2016. Motorsport.com. 13 April 2016. 12 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312062519/https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/renault-signs-chinese-karting-driver-sun-yue-yang-686637/. dead.
17. News: Renault names Ocon as F1 reserve, plus four-man academy. Allen. Peter. 3 February 2016. Paddock Scout. 4 February 2016.
18. Web site: Sacha Fenestraz loses Renault academy status and looks to Japan for 2019. Allen. Peter. FormulaScout. December 18, 2018. December 19, 2018.
19. Web site: Aitken leads 2017 Renault Sport Academy line-up. 21 February 2017. 21 February 2017. 7 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024912/https://www.motorsport.com/frenault/news/aitken-leads-2017-renault-sport-academy-line-up-875488/. dead.
20. Web site: Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy. 31 March 2017. 1 April 2017.
21. Web site: French F4 rivals Rougier and Martins become Renault juniors ahead of Eurocup moves. 15 January 2018. 16 January 2018.
22. Web site: GP3 champion Anthoine Hubert joins Renault F1 scheme, makes F2 move. Horton. Phillip. Motorsport Week. 23 January 2019. 23 January 2019. 23 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223657/https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/21294. dead.
23. News: Suttill . Josh . Leonardo Lorandi earns Renault F1 affiliate driver status . 23 May 2019 . formulascout.com . Formula Scout . 23 May 2019.
24. Web site: Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3. Allen. Peter. FormulaScout. 11 April 2019. 11 April 2019.
25. Web site: 22 January 2019. GUANYU ZHOU JOINS THE RENAULT SPORT ACADEMY FOR 2019. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190316085152/http://www.fiaformula2.com/News-Room/News/2019/01_january/Guanyu-Zhou-joins-the-Renault-Sport-Academy-for-2019/. 16 March 2019. 22 January 2019.
26. Web site: Renault Sport Academy signs Caio Collet. 22 January 2019. 22 January 2019. 27 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211027132037/https://www.renaultsport.com/renault-sport-academy-signs-caio-collet.html?r=331. dead.
27. Web site: Piastri combines with Prema for FIA Formula 3 Championship and joins Renault Sport Academy. January 26, 2020. January 27, 2020.
28. News: Piastri to drive for McLaren as Alpine lose appeal . en-GB . BBC Sport . 2022-09-02.
29. Web site: 2022-03-09 . Alpine Academy introduces Affiliate programme and Abbi Pulling as the academy's first ever female driver . 2022-05-23 . The Checkered Flag . en-GB.
30. Web site: 2023-02-14. Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy . 2023-02-14. Autohebdo. fr.
31. News: Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme. Allen. Peter. 5 February 2012. Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. 18 July 2012.
32. News: Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers announced. 15 February 2013. GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 15 February 2013.
33. News: O'Keeffe and Ramsay join Lotus F1 Junior Team. Allen. Peter. Paddock Scout. PaddockScout.com. 2 April 2014. 2 April 2014.
34. Web site: Petr Ptacek Jr avec Lotus F1 Junior Team et Energy en 2015. Kartcom. 4 November 2014. 3 January 2023.
35. News: @chiarabaettig on Instagram. @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 17 February 2023.
36. News: @chiarabaettig on Instagram. @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 29 December 2023.