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Alpine Academy

Founded	2002; 23 years ago (2002) (as RF1 Driver Programme)
Base	Enstone, Oxfordshire, England
Team principal(s)	Julian Rouse (Director)
Current drivers	FIA Formula 2 Victor Martins Kush Maini FIA Formula 3 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, 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.

Current drivers

Driver	Years	Current Series	Titles as Alpine junior
Victor Martins	2021–	TBA	FIA Formula 3 Championship
Abbi Pulling	2022–	GB3 Championship	F1 Academy
Gabriele Minì	2023–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kush Maini	2023–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Nicola Lacorte	2023–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kabir Anurag	2024–	Italian F4 Championship Euro 4 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

Driver	Years	Current Series	Titles as Rac(H)er member
Aiva Anagnostiadis	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

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.

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–	—

Former drivers

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

Driver	Years	Series competed	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	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)
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	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	2009	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2009)	Marussia (2012) Caterham (2013)
Marco Sørensen	2009	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2009) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2009)	None
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	2016–2018	Karting (2016) Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) Formula Renault NEC (2017) BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2018)	None
Jack Aitken	2016–2018	GP3 Series (2016–17) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018)	Williams (2020)
Marta García	2017	Spanish F4 Championship (2017) SMP F4 Championship (2017)	None
Jarno Opmeer	2017	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)	None
Sacha Fenestraz	2017–2018	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2018) GP3 Series (2018)	None
Max Fewtrell	2017–2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017–2018) Formula Renault NEC (2017–18) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019–20)	None
Christian Lundgaard	2017–2021	SMP F4 Championship (2017) F4 Spanish Championship (2017) Formula Renault Eurocup (2018) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2020)	None
Victor Martins	2018–2019	Formula Renault Eurocup (2018, 2019)
Arthur Rougier	2018	Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)	None
Anthoine Hubert	2018–2019	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019)	None
Leonardo Lorandi	2019	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019)	None
Yifei Ye	2019	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)	None
Guanyu Zhou	2019–2020	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020)	Alfa Romeo (2022–2023) Kick Sauber (2024)
Caio Collet	2019–2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019–2020)	None
Oscar Piastri	2020	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020)	McLaren (2023–)
Hadrien David	2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2020)	None

• Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Lotus F1 (2012–2015)

Driver	Years	Series competed	F1 Team(s)
Kevin Korjus	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
Marco Sørensen	2013–2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2014) GP2 Series (2014–2015) FIA World Endurance Championship (2015)	None
Alexander Albon	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	2014–2015	Karting (2014–2015)	None
Matthieu Vaxivière	2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015) Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2015)	None
Petr Ptáček	2015	Karting (2015)	None

Alpine F1 (2021–)

Driver	Years	Series competed	F1 Team(s)
Christian Lundgaard	2021	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021) IndyCar Series (2021)	None
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–)
Olli Caldwell	2022	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022)	None
Hadrien David	2022	Formula Regional European Championship (2022)	None
Matheus Ferreira	2022–2023	Italian F4 Championship (2023) F4 Brazilian Championship (2023)	None
Jack Doohan	2022–2024	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023)	Alpine (2024–)
Kean Nakamura-Berta	2022–2024	Formula 4 UAE Championship (2024) Italian F4 Championship (2024) Euro 4 Championship (2024)	None
Nikola Tsolov	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
Sophia Flörsch	2023–2024	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024)	None

• Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

Driver	Years	Series competed
Chiara Bättig	2023	OK Junior Switzerland

See also

• Alpine F1 Team

Notes

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

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. Larkam, Lewis (10 February 2021). "Alpine F1 team reveals Academy line-up for 2021 season". Crash. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
5. ^ "Alpine présente le cru 2023 de son Academy". Autohebdo (in French). 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
6. "Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
7. Wood, Ida (24 October 2023). "Mika Hakkinen's protege Kush Maini becomes Alpine F1 junior". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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. Almeida, Mario (15 April 2024). "Kabir Anurag joins the Alpine Academy programme". Alpine. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
10. ^ "Alpine launches all-female karting programme". Racers. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
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12. 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.
13. ^ "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.
14. ^ "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
15. ^ Allen, Peter (3 February 2016). "Renault names Ocon as F1 reserve, plus four-man academy". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
16. 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.
17. ^ "Aitken leads 2017 Renault Sport Academy line-up". 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
18. Allen, Peter (18 December 2018). "Sacha Fenestraz loses Renault academy status and looks to Japan for 2019". FormulaScout. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
19. ^ "Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy". 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
20. ^ "French F4 rivals Rougier and Martins become Renault juniors ahead of Eurocup moves". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
21. 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.
22. "F2 driver Hubert killed in Spa-Francorchamps crash". motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
23. Suttill, Josh (23 May 2019). "Leonardo Lorandi earns Renault F1 affiliate driver status". formulascout.com. Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
24. Allen, Peter (11 April 2019). "Yifei Ye joins Renault Sport Academy ahead of FIA F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
25. "GUANYU ZHOU JOINS THE RENAULT SPORT ACADEMY FOR 2019". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
26. "Renault Sport Academy signs Caio Collet". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
27. ^ "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.
28. "Piastri to drive for McLaren as Alpine lose appeal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
29. ^ "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. ^ Allen, Peter (5 February 2012). "Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme". Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
31. ^ "Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers announced". GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
32. ^ Allen, Peter (2 April 2014). "O'Keeffe and Ramsay join Lotus F1 Junior Team". Paddock Scout. PaddockScout.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
33. "Petr Ptacek Jr avec Lotus F1 Junior Team et Energy en 2015". Kartcom. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
34. ^ "Alpine adds Doohan and Caldwell to F1 driver academy". Motorsport Week. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
35. Mini and Tsolov join Alpine Academy for 2023 season
36. "I would like to thank Alpine Academy". Nikola Tsolov on Instagram. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
37. "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.
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.

External links

• Renault Formula One Official website - Renault Sport Academy

v t e Alpine F1 Team

Executive management Philippe Krief (Chief Executive Officer) Oliver Oakes (Team Principal) David Sanchez (Executive Technical Director) Flavio Briatore (Executive Advisor) Personnel Dirk de Beer Davide Brivio Marcin Budkowski Chris Dyer Bruno Famin Pat Fry Matt Harman Eric Meignan Alan Permane Ciaron Pilbeam Laurent Rossi Otmar Szafnauer Rob White 2024 Race drivers 10. Pierre Gasly 31. Esteban Ocon 61. Jack Doohan 2025 Race drivers 7. Jack Doohan 10. Pierre Gasly Race winners Esteban Ocon Test and reserve drivers Paul Aron Alpine Academy drivers Kabir Anurag Sophia Flörsch Victor Martins Nicola Lacorte Kush Maini Gabriele Minì Kean Nakamura-Berta Abbi Pulling Formula One cars A350 (test only) A500 (test only) A521 A522 A523 A524 Related Renault in Formula One Automobiles Alpine Team Enstone

v t e Renault in Formula One
Équipe Renault (1977–1985) Notable personnel Bernard Dudot Gérard Larrousse Jean Sage Michel Têtu Notable drivers Jean-Pierre Jabouille René Arnoux Alain Prost Eddie Cheever Derek Warwick Patrick Tambay Philippe Streiff François Hesnault Formula One cars RS01 RS10 RE20 RE20B RE30 RE30B RE30C RE40 RE50 RE60 RE60B Related Renault Renault Sport
Renault F1 Team (2002–2010) Notable personnel James Allison Bob Bell Éric Boullier Flavio Briatore Dirk de Beer Jean-François Caubet Nick Chester Denis Chevrier Tad Czapski Alain Dassas Tim Densham Mike Elliott Patrick Faure John Iley Ayao Komatsu Gérard López Patrick Louis Eric Lux Rob Marshall Paul Monaghan Jarrod Murphy Rod Nelson Steve Nielsen Alan Permane Simon Rennie Bernard Rey Iñaki Rueda Mark Slade Mark Smith Pat Symonds Rémi Taffin Dino Toso Jon Tomlinson Naoki Tokunaga Jonathan Wheatley Rob White Notable drivers Jarno Trulli Jenson Button Giancarlo Fisichella Heikki Kovalainen Nelson Piquet Jr. Robert Kubica World Champion(s) Fernando Alonso Drivers' titles 2005 2006 Constructors' titles 2005 2006 Formula One cars R202 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30 Related Renault Renault Sport RF1 Driver Programme Renault Formula One crash controversy Team Enstone
Lotus Renault GP (2011) Notable personnel Éric Boullier James Allison Dirk de Beer Jean-François Caubet Nick Chester Tim Densham Mike Elliott Ayao Komatsu Gérard López Patrick Louis Eric Lux Jarrod Murphy Steve Nielsen Alan Permane Iñaki Rueda Simon Rennie Bernard Rey Julien Simon-Chautemps Naoki Tokunaga Drivers Nick Heidfeld Vitaly Petrov Bruno Senna Formula One cars R31 Related Genii Capital Group Lotus LRGP Academy Team Enstone
Renault F1 Team (2016–2020) Executive management Cyril Abiteboul (managing director) Luca de Meo (Group CEO) Marcin Budkowski (Executive Director) Jérôme Stoll (President) Notable personnel Dirk de Beer Chris Dyer Pat Fry Alan Permane Ciaron Pilbeam Alain Prost Rémi Taffin Bob Bell Nick Chester Mark Slade Julien Simon-Chautemps Frédéric Vasseur Notable drivers Kevin Magnussen Jolyon Palmer Carlos Sainz Jr. Nico Hülkenberg Daniel Ricciardo Esteban Ocon Renault Sport Academy Max Fewtrell Christian Lundgaard Caio Collet Zhou Guanyu Oscar Piastri Hadrien David Formula One cars R.S.16 R.S.17 R.S.18 R.S.19 R.S.20 Related Groupe Renault Renault Sport Alpine F1 Team Team Enstone
Titles achieved with Renault engines Drivers' titles 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 2005 2006 2010 2011 2012 2013 Constructors' titles 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 2005 2006 2010 2011 2012 2013 Related Renault Renault Sport Renault Sport F1 Renault engine customers' Grand Prix results Italics indicate factory team.

• Renault in motorsport
• Racing schools