Nowhere To Go: the Story of the Alpine Juniors

The Alpine Academy (formerly known as the Renault Sport Academy) is a young drivers program that currently houses many drivers in Formula 2, Formula 3, and other single-seater racing series. The aim of Alpine Academy is to prepare the Alpine juniors for a career in Formula One, and to one day have some of these drivers race for the Alpine F1 team. 

But there’s a problem within the Alpine Academy right now: there’s nowhere to go. Alpine has no seats available in F1 for next year, and it’s likely they won’t have a seat open at all in the next few years. To make matters worse, there’s only a small chance these Alpine junior drivers would be able to find a seat at a different Formula One team in the meantime. As of right now, this issue mainly affects Alpine’s Formula 2 drivers, but if it persists for long enough, it could affect the Alpine juniors in Formula 3 and beyond. 

In Formula 2, there are three drivers that are majorly affected by Alpine not having any seats in F1 for them. If Alpine can’t find them seats, it could potentially change the trajectory of their career forever. These three drivers are Oscar Piastri, Guanyu Zhou, and Christian Lundgaard. 

Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri currently races for Prema Racing in Formula 2. Before Formula 2, Piastri raced in–and won–numerous other series. These series include numerous karting championships and Formula Renault Eurocup. 

In 2020, Piastri won the Formula 3 championship with 2 wins and 164 points. What makes this feat even more impressive is that Piastri did it as a rookie. And in his first year in Formula 2, he’s looking to repeat what he did in 2020. Currently, Piastri sits first in the F2 championship, with 108 points. If Piastri can perform solidly throughout the rest of the year, there’s a good chance he could win the F2 championship as a rookie. 

However, winning F2 would put Piastri in a tough spot because once a driver wins F2, they cannot reenter the championship and must move on from the series. This means that if Piastri wins F2 this year, he has to move on. The logical next step for Piastri would be a move to F1, but Alpine has no seat for him for next year. Piastri’s talent alone could possibly land him at a team like Williams, but with how many talented drivers are looking for a F1 seat, that’s not a guarantee. As an Alpine junior, Piastri’s connections with the Alpine F1 team are supposed to help get to F1, but they aren’t doing him any favors right now. 

Guanyu Zhou

Alpine junior Guanyu Zhou currently races in Formula 2 with Uno-Virtuosi Racing. Zhou is currently in his third season in F2, and he has also raced in Formula 3 and Formula 4. In addition to racing in F2, he also currently serves as the test driver for Alpine F1, a position he was promoted to in 2020. 

Zhou intends to make this season his last one in F2, and he’s making it look like it just might be. Zhou currently sits second in the F2 championship, and he is only 5 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri. With plenty of time left to go in the season, Zhou could still win it and ensure that he moves on from F2. 

But, similarly to Piastri, Zhou really has nowhere to go if he moves on. He could stay on as Alpine’s test and reserve driver, but that wouldn’t give him the amount of driving time he wants or needs in the next season. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that Fernando Alonso’s seat would be open after next year. Alonso just announced he will remain with Alpine until the end of next season, but he could stay for longer if he wants to–and if he keeps performing at his current level. If Zhou does not want to wait for a seat that might not be open for a few years, he could look for a seat at other teams. Zhou would likely bring decent money from sponsors to whatever team he races for, but that still doesn’t guarantee him a seat. Unless Alpine strikes a deal with another F1 team, being an Alpine junior will not help Zhou on his quest to become China’s first F1 driver. 

Christian Lundgaard

Christian Lundgaard is the final Alpine junior currently racing in Formula 2. Before reaching Formula 2, Lundgaard won championships in SMP and Spanish Formula 4. He only spent one year in Formula 3, but that one year was impressive, with Lundgaard scoring one win and two podiums as an F3 rookie. He made the jump to Formula 2 in 2020, and he had a successful first season. He scored two wins and six podiums in 2020, and he kept himself in the championship fight for most of the season. 

Lundgaard’s second season in F2 has not been so kind to him. So far in the season, he’s retired from 3 races and finished outside the points in an additional 5 races. He currently sits 12th in the championship with only 28 points. Where there’s still plenty of time this season for Lungaard to improve his championship position, it would be nearly impossible for him to fight for the championship win. 

Of the three Alpine Juniors currently in F2, Lundgaard is probably most affected by Alpine’s lack of seats in Formula One. While Lundgaard is a talented driver, so are Piastri and Zhou. If Alpine found a way to promote one driver to F1 next season, Lundgaard would not be their first choice. Lundgaard is looking to move on from Formula 2, but there is no place in F1 for him to go. 

However, of the Alpine juniors, Lundgaard is the one who is actively exploring other options. One of these options is Indycar, which Lundgaard seems to be seriously considering. After having a private test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Barber Motorsports Park, he was given the chance to do a one-off race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Lundgaard was impressive in his Indycar debut, qualifying in P4 and finishing the race in P12. If F1 is not an option for Lundgaard in the near future, the young talent could easily have a future in Indycar. 

The Alpine juniors racing in Formula 2 are talented young drivers that deserve a shot at F1. However, due to Alpine’s lack of Formula One seats, it’s a shot the drivers might not get.