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BWT Alpine F1 Team introduced its Alpine Academy drivers on Monday (14 February). Two new faces have arrived and two drivers proceed inside the programme for his or her fourth 12 months; all 4 competed within the FIA Method 3 Championship in 2021.
Caio Collet and Victor Martins stay with the Academy and stay in F3 for his or her second seasons, with Collet staying at MP Motorsport and Martins shifting to ART Grand Prix, with whom he received the 2020 Method Renault Eurocup.
Martins received Race 2 in Zandvoort, whereas each took podiums at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya within the first assembly of the season. Martins completed on the rostrum twice on house soil at Circuit Paul Ricard, with Collet taking third in Race 3. Additional podiums got here for the Frenchman at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Sochi.
Jack Doohan and Olli Caldwell competed in FIA F3 in 2021, taking 4 wins and one win with Trident and PREMA Racing respectively.
Doohan missed out on the title to PREMA FIA Method 2 Championship recruit Dennis Hauger, however helped Trident to the Groups’ Championship alongside Clement Novalak and David Schumacher.
Caldwell completed eighth within the standings after a win in Barcelona and 4 podiums throughout the season. The pair made their F2 debuts in Jeddah in December, after the F3 season resulted in Sochi two months earlier.
Each drivers have been concerned in collisions in Abu Dhabi throughout the ultimate three races with Virtuosi Racing and Campos Racing, although Doohan took a powerful fifth-place end in Dash Race 2 in Saudi Arabia, and eighth in the identical race at Yas Marina Circuit.
The prevailing Alpine Academy drivers have been among the many class of the sphere in FIA Method 2 in 2021. Oscar Piastri received his third successive title (Method Renault Eurocup, FIA F3) by taking the F2 crown on the first time of asking, and can assume a reserve and simulator driver function for 2022.
In the meantime, Guanyu Zhou‘s race-winning season noticed him rewarded with a seat at Alfa Romeo F1 Staff ORLEN alongside Valtteri Bottas, as Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi each go away Method 1.
Christian Lundgaard will contest the 2022 IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine mentioned, “The Alpine Academy stays a particularly beneficial a part of what we need to obtain in Method One.
“We’re captivated with discovering the following era of racers to nourish our F1 driver line-up. It’s thrilling to see the rising power of the programme because it began in 2016, with [2021] being its most profitable season to this point.
“Of our 2021 graduates, Oscar [Piastri] joins our Method One programme because the staff’s official Reserve Driver. He has an essential function alongside Esteban [Ocon] and Fernando [Alonso] this 12 months.
“We additionally solely must look down the Method One paddock and throughout to IndyCar to see two extra of our Academy graduates from final 12 months, which is testomony to the construction of the programme to arrange drivers for senior sequence.’
“As with yearly, now we have excessive expectations for our Academy and it’s no totally different heading into this season,” he mentioned.
“We welcome two new drivers, Jack and Oli, mixed with the returning Method 3 duo of Caio and Victor. Every brings their very own character and expertise and we’re excited to see how our drivers develop this season, individually and as a gaggle.”
Davide Brivio will take a brand new function for 2022, as Director of Racing Enlargement Tasks, as former Racing Level and Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Staff Principal Otmar Szafnauer joined on Thursday (17 February).
Previous to leaving the Enstone staff, Brivio mentioned “The Alpine Academy enters a brand new cycle this season after a really profitable 2021 for the programme.
“This 12 months our Academy driver line-up has a pleasant mix of expertise with loads of potential. Jack and Olli each enter their first seasons in Method 2 however crucially have expertise from the sequence final 12 months.
“Now we have religion they are going to adapt nicely and be taught beneficial classes of their first 12 months within the Academy.
“Caio and Victor proceed within the programme for an additional 12 months and now we have excessive expectations for them each. They now develop into essentially the most skilled drivers within the Academy, so we’re excited to see them display all of their learnings up to now.”
Mia Sharizman, Alpine Academy Director added, “We’re solely measured by our success on observe and our purpose as an Academy is at all times to win the championships our drivers are competing in.
“Jack is contemporary from ending as runner-up in F3, displaying his uncooked velocity within the championship and once more in his debut in F2 final 12 months. Whereas Olli comes into the Academy after a stable 12 months in F3 the place he managed 4 podiums and a race win.
“We settle for it would take just a few races for the 2 of them to regulate to their new environment, however we’re assured they are going to hit the bottom operating in the direction of the second half of the season.
“For Victor and Caio, they comprehend it’s time to ship and battle for the F3 title this season after a robust first 12 months within the sequence.
“They’ve been a part of the Academy for 4 years and have proven robust improvement in each season. Victor received his first race final 12 months and Caio scored some robust outcomes. We’re excited for each seasons to start out subsequent month.”
Martins, Collet, Doohan and Caldwell will start their 2022 seasons on 18-20 March as F2 and F3 help Method One on the Sakhir Worldwide Circuit, Bahrain.
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