Alpine Academy
| Company type | Talent development program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorsport |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Renault F1 |
Area served | Motorsport drivers worldwide |
| Products | Driver development and training |
| Parent | Alpine F1 Team (formerly Renault F1) |
The Alpine Academy, initially launched as the RF1 Driver Programme and subsequently known as Renault Driver Development and Renault Sport Academy, is a talent cultivation initiative created by Renault F1 in 2002 to foster promising young drivers.
This development program has experienced multiple renamings corresponding to the evolution of the team's branding: it was rebranded as the LRGP Academy in 2011 after the Lotus Renault GP transformation; in 2012, it became the Lotus F1 Team iRace Professional Programme; and from 2013 through 2015, it operated under the name Lotus F1 Junior Team. The designation Alpine Academy was adopted in 2021 following Renault F1's rebranding to Alpine F1 Team.
In March 2022, Alpine launched the Alpine Affiliates initiative aimed at supporting up-and-coming drivers as a preparatory stage for entry into the main Academy; this program was merged into the Alpine Academy at the beginning of 2023.
Current drivers
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Rac(H)er Karting Programme
| Driver | Years | Current Series | Titles as Rac(H)er member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Aiva Anagnostiadis | 2023– | F1 Academy | none as Rac(H)er member |
| Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Angélina Proenca | 2023– | IAME Euro Series | none as Rac(H)er member |
| Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Lisa Billard | 2023– | Championnat de France Junior Championship | none as Rac(H)er member |
| Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showall Mariachiara Nardelli | 2023– | Italian ACI Karting Championship | none as Rac(H)er member |
Graduates Reaching Formula 1
The following table enumerates drivers who progressed to Formula 1 under the backing of Renault, Lotus Renault, or Alpine. Not included are drivers such as Zhou Guanyu and Oscar Piastri who departed from the Alpine Academy to compete with different teams.
| Driver | Academy Tenure | F1 Career with Renault/Lotus/Alpine | F1 Career with Other Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Previous Series | |||
| Template:Country data FINTemplate:Namespace detect showall Heikki Kovalainen | 2002–2005 | British Formula 3 Championship (2002) World Series by Nissan (2003–2004) GP2 Series (2005) |
Template:F1 | McLaren (2008–2009) Team Lotus (2010–2011) Caterham F1 (2012) Lotus F1 (2013) |
| Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Romain Grosjean | 2006–2009 | Formula 3 Euro Series (2006–2007) GP2 Asia Series (2008) GP2 Series (2008–2009) |
Template:F1 Template:F1–Template:F1 |
Haas F1 Team (2016–2020) |
| Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Jack Doohan | 2022–2024 | FIA Formula 2 Championship (2022–2023) | Template:F1–Template:F1 | \N/A |
Renault / Lotus Renault GP Era (2002–2011, 2016–2020)
- Titles won are shown in bold.
Lotus F1 (2012–2015)
Alpine F1 (2021–)
- Titles won are indicated in bold.
Rac(H)er Karting Programme
| Driver | Years | Series competed |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Country data SUITemplate:Namespace detect showall Chiara Bättig | 2023 | OK Junior Switzerland |