Alpine Academy

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.

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 Kush Maini Gabriele Minì FIA Formula 3 Nicola Lacorte Italian F4 Kabir Anurag GB3 Championship Abbi Pulling Karting Ilie Tristan Crisan Aiva Anagnostiadis Angélina Proenca Lisa Billard Maria Chiara Nardelli Sukhmani Kaur Khera
Website	https://www.alpine-cars.co.uk/formula-1/alpine-academy.html

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	Years	Current Series	Titles as Alpine junior
Abbi Pulling[4]	2022–	GB3 Championship	F1 Academy
Gabriele Minì[5]	2023–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kush Maini[6]	2023–	FIA Formula 2 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Kabir Anurag[7]	2024–	Italian F4 Championship E4 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Nicola Lacorte[8]	2024–	FIA Formula 3 Championship	none as Alpine Academy member
Nina Gademan[9]	2025–	Formula Winter Series F1 Academy	none as Alpine Academy member
Ilie Tristan Crisan[10]	2025–	Karting (OKJ)	none as Alpine Academy member
Sukhmani Kaur Khera[11][12]	2025–[note 1]	British Karting Championship	none as Alpine Academy member

Rac(H)er Karting Programme

Driver	Years	Current Series	Titles as Rac(H)er member
Aiva Anagnostiadis[11]	2023–	Australia Kart Championship	none as Rac(H)er Programme member
Angélina Proenca[11]	2023–	IAME Euro Series	none as Rac(H)er Programme member
Lisa Billard[11]	2023–	Championnat de France Junior Championship	none as Rac(H)er Programme member
Maria Chiara Nardelli[11]	2023–	Italian ACI 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.^[13][14]

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
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[15]	2005–2007	Formula 3 Euro Series (2005) GP2 Series (2006–2007)	Virgin Racing (2010)
Ben Hanley[15]	2006–2008	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2006–2007) GP2 Series (2008)	None
Dani Clos[15]	2007	Formula 3 Euro Series (2007)	None
Nelson Panciatici[15]	2007	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2007) Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 (2007)	None
Charles Pic[16]	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[16]	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[17]	2016	GP2 Series (2016) Formula V8 3.5 Series (2016)	None
Kevin Jörg[17]	2016	GP3 Series (2016)	None
Oliver Rowland[17]	2016	GP2 Series (2016)	None
Jack Aitken[17]	2016–2018	GP3 Series (2016–17) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2018)	Williams (2020)
Sun Yueyang[18]	2016–2018	Karting (2016) Formula Renault Eurocup (2017) Formula Renault NEC (2017) BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2018)	None
Marta García	2017	Spanish F4 Championship (2017) SMP F4 Championship (2017)	None
Jarno Opmeer[19]	2017	Formula Renault Eurocup (2017)	None
Sacha Fenestraz[20]	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[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
Arthur Rougier[22]	2018	Formula Renault Eurocup (2018)	None
Anthoine Hubert[23]	2018–2019	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019)[note 2]	None
Victor Martins[22]	2018–2019	Formula Renault Eurocup (2018, 2019)
Leonardo Lorandi[25]	2019	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019)	None
Yifei Ye[26]	2019	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2019)	None
Caio Collet[27]	2019–2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2019–2020)	None
Guanyu Zhou[28]	2019–2020	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2019–2020)	Alfa Romeo (2022–2023) Kick Sauber (2024)
Hadrien David[29]	2020	Formula Renault Eurocup (2020)	None
Oscar Piastri[30]	2020	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020)	McLaren (2023–)[31]

• Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Lotus F1 (2012–2015)

Driver	Years	Series competed	F1 Team(s)
Kevin Korjus[32]	2012	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)	None
Richie Stanaway[32]	2012	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2012)	None
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
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–)
Dorian Boccolacci[33]	2012–2015	Karting (2012–13) French F4 Championship (2014) FIA Formula 3 European Championship (2015)	None
Alex Fontana[33]	2013–2014	GP3 Series (2013–2014)	None
Marco Sørensen[33]	2013–2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2014) GP2 Series (2014–2015) FIA World Endurance Championship (2015)	None
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–)
Marlon Stöckinger[33]	2013–2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2013–2015) GP2 Series (2015)	None
Callan O'Keeffe[34]	2014	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)	None
Gregor Ramsay[34]	2014	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (2014) Formula Renault 2.0 NEC (2014)	None
Juan Manuel Correa[34]	2014–2015	Karting (2014–2015)	None
Matthieu Vaxivière[33]	2015	Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2015) Formula Renault 2.0 Alps (2015)	None
Petr Ptáček[35]	2015	Karting (2015)	None

Alpine F1 (2021–)

Driver	Years	Series competed	F1 Team(s)
Christian Lundgaard[21]	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[30]	2021–2022	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021)	McLaren (2023–)
Victor Martins[36]	2021–2024	FIA Formula 3 Championship (2021–2022) FIA Formula 2 Championship (2023–2024)	None
Olli Caldwell[37]	2022	FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022)	None
Hadrien David[29]	2022	Formula Regional European Championship (2022)	None
Matheus Ferreira[4]	2022–2023	Italian F4 Championship (2023) F4 Brazilian Championship (2023)	None
Kean Nakamura-Berta[4]	2022–2024	Karting (2022–2023) Formula 4 UAE Championship (2024) Italian F4 Championship (2024) Euro 4 Championship (2024)	None
Nikola Tsolov[38][39]	2022–2024	F4 Spanish Championship (2022) FIA Formula 3 Championship (2023–2024)	None
Aiden Neate[4]	2023	Formula Regional Middle East Championship (2023) F4 British Championship (2023)	None
Sophia Flörsch[40]	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[41][42]	2023	OK Junior Switzerland

See also

• Alpine F1 Team

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. "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. "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. "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. "The Renault Driver development Programme announces its 2009 class". f1technical.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
17. 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. "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. "Garcia and Lundgaard announced to Renault Sport Academy". 31 March 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
22. "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. "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. "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. Allen, Peter (5 February 2012). "Lotus and Gravity launch iRace Professional Programme". Paddock Scout. Peter Allen. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
33. "Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers announced". GPUpdate.net. JHED Media BV. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
34. 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.

External links

• Renault Formula One Official website - Renault Sport Academy