Renault Sport Racing have announced they will try and find ‘future Renault Sport champions’ with the creation of the Renault Sport Academy.
Four drivers have already been announced at the scheme which will be led by Mia Sharizman Ismail. Reigning Formula Renault 3.5 champion Oliver Rowland, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps winner Jack Aitken, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC winner Louis Deletraz and runner-up Kevin Joerg will be the first members of the program.
Rowland is entering GP2 this season with MP Motorsport, while Deletraz is taking part in the Formula V8 3.5 championship with Fortec Motorsport. Aitken and Joerg are taking part in GP3 with Arden International and DAMS respectively.
As part of the process, the drivers will have regular visits to the base of their Formula One team in Enstone to take part in pre-season and mid-season fitness camps as well as understanding how the team operates through an ‘internship’. They will also take part in ‘an immersion programme’ in Paris for the Academy members to learn about the ethos of Renault Sport Racing.
Renault have long supported young drivers in motorsport, with such drivers as Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen and Romain Grosjean coming through the ranks to Formula One in the past to stand on the podium.
Frederic Vasseur, the newly-announced Racing Director, stated his thoughts on the launch of the programme: “The Renault Sport Academy underlines the commitment of Renault Sport Racing to nurture young talent to develop the Formula One stars of the future.
“The motivation is not just altruistic; we want these drivers to become future Formula One World Champions and we are putting every tool at their disposal to achieve this aim.”
Guillaume Boisseau, the Brands Director at Groupe Renault, also commented on the commitment: “Renault has a terrific heritage in motorsport and this is something we are committed to continuing in the future.
“The Renault Sport Academy enables us to not only develop new talent but also ally this to the actual involvement of our local markets by making the process directly relevant in each country where Renault Sport is present and also giving us a larger catchment area to identify the drivers who will fly our flag at the highest echelons of motorsport in the future.”
This is just one part of Renault’s motor racing strategy which involves the likes of their Formula E and Formula One teams, the latter which will involve Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer as their drivers in 2016.
Comments.
Loading comments…