14 February 2023

BWT Alpine F1 Team is pleased to unveil its Alpine Academy 2023 line-up with eight drivers from seven countries competing in six different categories.


Jack Doohan (Virtuosi Racing) and Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) remain Academy Drivers and will compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.


At the same time, Gabriele Mini (Hitech Grand Prix) joins the programme and will compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, alongside Nikola Tsolov (ART Grand Prix), promoted within the Academy after an impressive initial season as a 2022 Affiliated Driver.


Abbi Pulling, Matheus Ferreira and Kean Nakamura also join the Bulgarian as fully fledged Academy drivers, with Aiden Neate completing the team. Abbi will compete in the new Formula 1 Academy category, while Matheus will discover the single-seater at the Italian Formula 4 Championship. Kean will continue his karting career and Aiden will soon announce his 2023 plans after competing at the Formula Regional Middle East Championship.


Alpine Academy graduate, Olli Caldwell, moves to LMP2 while remaining associated with Alpine. This decision comes at a time when the brand continues to expand its presence in competitions with the establishment of its LMDh programme in 2024. Olli joins the official Alpine team in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

 


In the near future, the Academy will also consolidate its links in the world of motorsport to take full advantage of its collaboration with Alpine Endurance Team.


After four years with the Academy, Caio Collet will retain links to the Alpine Racing family, without being officially affiliated to the programme.


All Alpine Academy members will benefit from the team’s state-of-the-art facilities at is F1 head office in Enstone (United Kingdom). They will also receive precious advice from the Academy’s experts, led by the Director of Racing Expansion Projects, Davide Brivio, and Alpine Academy Director, Julian Rouse.


Laurent Rossi, Alpine Cars CEO: “The Alpine Academy has been strengthened and expanded for 2023 as it remains a seminal part of Alpine Racing’s ambitions in motorsport. While Formula 1 remains the pinnacle, we have adopted a fresh approach to the Academy from this year to expand opportunities under the Alpine umbrella where we have presence across many motorsport disciplines. We are dedicated to progressing drivers through the racing ranks to open up a greater talent pool across our racing teams. Of course, ultimately, the best talent have ambitions of reaching Formula 1 and that remains the objective, but by expanding our vision, we will create opportunities to identify, nurture and help our young drivers become accomplished racing drivers who will represent the Alpine brand at global level. I’m excited to see what the 2023 drivers can achieve, and I look forward to following their respective seasons very closely.”


Davide Brivio, Alpine Racing Director of Racing Expansion Projects: “It’s been a privilege to be able to contribute to the Alpine Academy and I think 2023 has the potential to be a very exciting year. We have eight drivers spread across different racing categories, all with high ambitions and high targets. Every year that goes by, we see our drivers grow and mature both on and off the track. A key element of 2023 is counting on Alpine’s dedication to motorsport to offer our drivers experience and opportunities. We will work closely with the Alpine Endurance Team and, of course, with the Formula 1 team to push our drivers to adapt, learn and ultimately become better race drivers. It’s a great moment to be involved with the Academy, and we can’t wait to see what the year brings.”


Julian Rouse, Alpine Academy Director: “The 2023 Alpine Academy line-up is arguably the most competitive it’s ever been. It’s been great to expand our roster to eight drivers and be able to represent Alpine across many disciplines. In Formula 2, we have two drivers in Jack and Victor who both have the potential to be fighting near the front. It’s the same in Formula 3 with Nikola and Gabriele, who I expect will be competitive from the get-go. Away from the Formula 1 support categories, we’re looking forward to seeing what Abbi, Matheus, Aiden and Kean can achieve across their respective series. I’m pleased to see Olli progressing into the sportscar world with us and this is just the start of a much closer and collaborative project where we at the Academy aim to count on the expertise of Alpine’s various racing divisions to give our drivers experience and opportunities. There are exciting times ahead and we’re all looking forward to working closely with our 2023 drivers.”

 


Alpine Academy 2023


Jack Doohan, FIA Formula 2 Championship, Virtuosi Racing (second year in the category)
Victor Martins, FIA Formula 2 Championship, ART Grand Prix (first year)
Nikola Tsolov, FIA Formula 3 Championship, ART Grand Prix (first year)
Gabriele Mini, FIA Formula 3 Championship, Hitech Grand Prix (first year)
Matheus Ferreira, Italian Formula 4 Championship, Van Amersfoort Racing (first year)
Abbi Pulling, F1 Academy (first year)
Aiden Neate
Kean Nakamura, European Karting Championship, Kart Republic (second year)