Alpine reveal "new era" academy lineup after trio graduate

Sam Hall
Monday 14 February 2022 10:34

Alpine has revealed the drivers that will fill the shoes of graduate trio Guanyu Zhou, Oscar Piastri and Christian Lundgaard.

The Alpine Academy enters its seventh year on the back of its most successful season to date with Piastri claiming the F2 title in his rookie year and Zhou finishing third and earning an Alfa Romeo F1 seat.

Although unable to secure an F1 race seat, Piastri will serve as the reserve driver for Alpine throughout 2022.

Lundgaard, who ended 2020 seventh, dropped to P12 last year and has now moved to the USA to race in Indycar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after a successful outing at Indianapolis.

Electing to downsize its academy to just four drivers this year, Caio Collet and Victor Martins have retained their positions with both competing in F1 support series F3.

Joining the academy are F2 drivers Jack Doohan and Olli Caldwell.

Doohan, the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, is the second Australian to be enrolled into the Alpine Academy following Piastri.

Last year, Doohan finished runner-up in F3 and will race this term with Virtuosi Racing, the team that Zhou previously raced for.

British driver Caldwell joins Campos Racing, a team he has prior knowledge of after contesting two F2 rounds with the outfit last year.

“The Alpine Academy remains an extremely valuable part of what we want to achieve in Formula 1," said Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi.

"We are passionate about finding the next generation of racers to nourish our F1 driver line-up.

"It’s exciting to see the growing strength of the programme since it was started in 2016, with last year being its most successful season to date."

Alpine Academy director Mia Sharizman added: “We are only measured by our success on track and our goal as an Academy is always to win the Championships our drivers are competing in.

"Jack is fresh from finishing as runner-up in Formula 3 showing his raw speed in the Championship and again in his debut in Formula 2 last year.

"While Olli comes into the Academy after a solid year in F3 where he managed four podium finishes and a race win. We accept it might take a few races for the two of them to adjust to their new surroundings, but we’re confident they will hit the ground running towards the second half of the season."