Alpine Academy
The Alpine Academy, 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". 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. However, it was merged into Alpine Academy at the start of 2023.
 | |
| Founded | 2002 (as RF1 Driver Programme) |
|---|---|
| Base | Enstone, Oxfordshire, England |
| Team principal(s) | Julian Rouse (Director) |
| Current drivers | Formula 2 Alex Dunne Kush Maini Gabriele MinìEurocup-3  Keanu Al AzhariFormula Regional  Kabir AnuragF1 Academy  Nina GademanKarting  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
[edit]| Driver | Years | Current Series | Titles as Alpine junior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kush Maini[4]
|
2023– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member |
| Gabriele Minì[5]
|
2023– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member |
| Kabir Anurag[6]
|
2024– | Formula Regional Middle East Trophy Formula Regional European Championship |
none as Alpine Academy member |
| Keanu Al Azhari[7]
|
2025– | Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship Eurocup-3 |
Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship (2026) |
| Nina Gademan[8]
|
2025– | F1 Academy | none as Alpine Academy member |
| Sukhmani Kaur Khera[9][10]
|
2025–[note 1] | Karting | none as Alpine Academy member |
| Alex Dunne[11]
|
2026– | FIA Formula 2 Championship | none as Alpine Academy member |
Graduates to Formula 1
[edit]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.[12][13]
| Driver | Academy experience | F1 experience with Renault/Lotus/Alpine | F1 experience with other teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Former series | |||
 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) |
 Romain Grosjean
|
2006–2009 | Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007) GP2 Asia Series (2008) GP2 Series (2008–2009) |
2009 2012–2015 |
Haas (2016–2020) |
 Jack Doohan
|
2022–2024 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023) | 2024–2025 | N/a |
Former drivers
[edit]Renault / Lotus Renault GP (2002–2011)
[edit]
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Lotus F1 (2012–2015)
[edit]
Renault Sport (2016–2020)
[edit]- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Alpine F1 (2021–)
[edit]
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Rac(H)er Karting Programme
[edit]| Driver | Years | Series competed |
|---|---|---|
 Chiara Bättig[43][44]
|
2023 | OK Junior Switzerland |
| Aiva Anagnostiadis[9]
|
2023–2024 | Australian Kart Championship Rotax Winter Cup IAME Euro Serie |
| Lisa Billard[9]
|
2023–2024 | South Garda Winter Cup - OKJ WSK Super Master Series - OKJ Championnat de France - Nationale Champions of the Future - OKJ CIK-FIA Academy Trophy |
| Mariachiara Nardelli[9]
|
2023–2024 | Italian ACI Karting Championship |
| Angélina Proenca[9]
|
2023–2024 | IAME Euro Series |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "Fairuz Fauzy to become Renault reserve". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "Alpine launches new 'Affiliate' driver programme". Motorsport Week. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Wood, Ida (24 October 2023). "Mika Hakkinen's protege Kush Maini becomes Alpine F1 junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ "Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Almeida, Mario (15 April 2024). "Kabir Anurag joins the Alpine Academy programme". Alpine. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ Wood, Ida (18 March 2025). "Keanu Al Azhari joins Alpine Academy ahead of GB3 move". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Hitech embark on first-ever assault on Formula Winter Series". Hitech Grand Prix. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Alpine launches all-female karting programme". Racers. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ @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 X (formerly Twitter).
- ^ Benson, Andrew; Gray, Andy (19 February 2026). "Ireland's Dunne signs for Alpine's F1 academy". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d "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.
- ^ a b "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b Allen, Peter (5 February 2012). "Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme". Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Petr Ptacek Jr avec Lotus F1 Junior Team et Energy en 2015". Kartcom. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Allen, Peter (18 December 2018). "Sacha Fenestraz loses Renault academy status and looks to Japan for 2019". FormulaScout. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy". 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ a b "French F4 rivals Rougier and Martins become Renault juniors ahead of Eurocup moves". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "F2 driver Hubert killed in Spa-Francorchamps crash". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ Suttill, Josh (23 May 2019). "Leonardo Lorandi earns Renault F1 affiliate driver status". formulascout.com. Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Allen, Peter (11 April 2019). "Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Renault Sport Academy signs Caio Collet". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "GUANYU ZHOU JOINS THE RENAULT SPORT ACADEMY FOR 2019". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Piastri to drive for McLaren as Alpine lose appeal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ Larkam, Lewis (10 February 2021). "Alpine F1 team reveals Academy line-up for 2021 season". Crash. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Alpine adds Doohan and Caldwell to F1 driver academy". Motorsport Week. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy". Autohebdo (in French). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season
- ^ "I would like to thank Alpine Academy". Nikola Tsolov on Instagram. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Wood, Ida (26 January 2025). "WSK Super Master Series begins with unveiling of new Alpine junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Announcement". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 17 February 2023.
- ^ "As I continue to prepare for the new racing season". @chiarabaettig on Instagram. 29 December 2023.
External links
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