Alpine have added Jack Doohan and Olli Caldwell to their driver academy as Victor Martins and Caio Collet retain their places within the programme.
Doohan and Caldwell have already graduated to F2 after driving for MP Motorsport and Campos respectively in the final two rounds of the 2021 season, having previously finished second and eighth respectively in F3 last season.
Doohan though has switched to UNI-Virtuosi Racing for the 2022 season with the team having ran previous Alpine Academy graduate, Guanyu Zhou between 2019-21, which proved successful with Zhou now having graduated to F1 with Alfa Romeo for this season.
Speaking about his decision to join Alpine Academy after previously receiving Red Bull backing, Doohan said: “I’m super excited to be joining the Alpine Academy this year. I’ve been working behind the scenes with the team since the start of the year and I’ve been gelling with everyone really well so far.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone more and settle into being an Academy member. The facilities are awesome, and the door is always open for chats and advice. I’m keen to get stuck in, work hard and start the 2022 on-track campaign.”
Doohan also is the second Australian in recent seasons to join Alpine after Oscar Piastri, who has won Formula Renault Eurocup, F3 and F2 in consecutive seasons between 2019-21, which has led him to be handed Alpine F1 Reserve Driver role for 2022 season.
Doohan is the son of five-time MotoGP champion – Mick Doohan but the 19 year-old has refused to set “definitive targets”, although he iterated that he expects to fight for the F2 title with Virtuosi this season despite aiming to “take it race by race” across the season.
Caldwell meanwhile is joining a youth driver programme in F1 for the first time as he stays with Campos, of whom he raced for last season in the final two rounds of the F2 campaign with a best finish of 12th in the second Saudi Arabian race.
The 19 year-old Brit revealed that he is “really excited” to join Alpine Academy as he described this move as “one of the biggest steps” in his career, although he is wary that the new-found support of a F1 team does add “good pressure” to keep pushing for his F1 dreams.
Caldwell also spoke highly of his short experience at Campos at end of last season and singled out Ralph Boschung for praise as his teammate, who he got on well with in their two rounds together – with the Swiss driver also continuing with the team this season in F2.
Campos Team Principal, Adrian Campos added that he was impressed by Caldwell in their two rounds together at end of last season, as he said: “Despite the short time we have been working together, the sensations can not be better.
“Olli has adapted very well to the team and the car and we are sure that a very good year ahead of us awaits us. Olli has the instinct, perseverance and intelligence to continue growing as a driver and from Campos Racing we will give him all the tools to make it so.”
Martins and Collet Stay In F3
Martins and Collet meanwhile have been retained on the programme after enjoying a strong season together in F3 in 2021 for MP Motorsport, during which they collected eight podiums in total including a win for Martins in Zandvoort.
Martins is “extremely happy” to remain with Alpine Academy for a fourth season in a second two-season spell, having previously been part of the programme under its old Renault name between 2018-19 seasons until he was dropped in early 2020 due to poor results.
The 20 year-old French driver therefore hailed his extended stay for another season as a “true achievement”, with motivation to further improve himself with a strong driver education in achieving success as he switches to ART Grand Prix for 2022 F3 season.
ART GP Team Principal, Sebastien Philippe added that he is “delighted” to welcome Martins back to the team, having previously worked together in Martins’ title winning 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup season and their aim is to fight for the title this season.
Martins will partner Gregoire Saucy and Juan Manuel Correa this season at ART GP and race in the number seven car.
Collet meanwhile remains part of Alpine Academy for a fourth consecutive season but will stay in F3 for a second season with MP Motorsport, where he will be looking to build upon his ninth-placed championship finish in 2021.
Speaking about extending his stint as a Alpine Academy member, Collet said: “I’m really pleased to be with the Academy again for a fourth season. The past three years have been really amazing in terms of the support they’ve given me.
Collet also praised Alpine for their advice and support in helping him progress as a driver, as he added: “They’ve been super helpful, and the support has helped me develop my skills both on and off track.
“The Academy has been important to me and this year I’m sure we’ll continue to be successful together.”
Collet also iterated that his aim this season is to mount a title challenge with the belief that he and MP Motorsport “have everything we need to fight for the championship this year, which is our goal.”
On how he thinks the title fight will be decided this season, Collet commented that “consistency and what we can achieve race by race” will be crucial, with his main focus solely on achieving maximum results and helping MP Motorsport perform well in the constructors’ standings.
Collet also praised MP Motorsport for their positive atmosphere with both driver and team knowing each other “equally well.”
MP Motorsport Team Principal, Sander Dorsman has described retaining Collet as “a massive coup” for the Dutch team, whilst adding that Collet plus Alexander Smolyar will make “a very strong package” alongside a third yet to be announced driver.
Alpine Technical Director, Davide Brivio added that both Martins and Collet will be expected to challenge for the title, with improvement overall on last season being their minimum aim.
Brivio also noted that Doohan and Caldwell have shown signs of “great potential” after enjoying strong F3 seasons in 2021.
Alpine Academy Director, Mia Sharizman meanwhile has explained the main objective for all four drivers as she said: “The ultimate objective has always been to develop and prepare each driver in the programme for our Formula 1 team.
“The year-on-year objective has to be to win the Drivers’ Championship title on all levels. We are only measured by our success on track.”
Sharizman also added that Doohan and Caldwell are part of a long-term project with the aim for both drivers to peak in 2024, which is expected to come as Esteban Ocon’s contract with Alpine’s F1 team expires at end of that season.
In terms of immediate expectations, Sharizman has iterated that a “patient” approach will be played as both drivers adapt to the Academy and learn how to maximise the opportunities available given the difficulty in entering the Academy and F2 at the same time. .
Sharizman though has added that Doohan will be expected to perform well this season but it will be “a learning year” for Caldwell, which the Brit understands and has accepted with aim of progressing within the long-term.
Christian Lundgaard has departed the Academy to go and race in IndyCar.
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