Alpine Academy
Program to support young racing drivers through their careers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Alex Dunne
Kush Maini
Gabriele MinìEurocup-3
Keanu Al AzhariFormula Regional
Kabir AnuragF1 Academy
Nina GademanKarting
Sukhmani Kaur Khera | |
| 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 Minì Eurocup-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 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | none as Alpine Academy member |
| 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
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
Renault / Lotus Renault GP (2002–2011)
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Lotus F1 (2012–2015)
Renault Sport (2016–2020)
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Alpine F1 (2021–)
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Rac(H)er Karting Programme
| 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 |