In recent years, being part of a driver academy that is directly linked to a Formula 1 team has proved to be crucial on the way up the feeder series ladder. At the start of 2023, Alpine made changes to their academy line-up; Caio Collet was removed from the Alpine Academy programme after his second season in F3 last year, although he still remains part of the Alpine family. Feeder Series analyses the reasoning behind Alpine’s decision to drop Collet and sign Italian youngster Gabriele Minì ahead of the 2023 FIA F3 season.

By Daniele Spadi

Having the backing of an F1 team gives drivers both confidence and a sense of security. Moreover, being part of an academy often means having the necessary funds for a full season in single-seater championships, which is often a struggle for talented drivers that lack endorsements and sponsorship deals. The Alpine Academy has produced some amazing talents that are now fighting in Formula 2 or even racing in Formula 1 — drivers such as Oscar Piastri, Zhou Guanyu and Jack Doohan.

Collet: ‘I’m still linked to Alpine’

In 2019, Collet was signed by the Renault Sport Academy – which was later called Alpine Academy following the F1 team’s rebranding in 2021. Following a good season in the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup and some positive runs in post-season testing at Catalunya, the Brazilian was selected by MP Motorsport to compete in FIA Formula 3 the year after. After a promising rookie season, all eyes were on Collet as he prepared his second F3 campaign — the first as a proper championship threat.

Despite featuring on the podium four times — two of them being Sprint Race wins — the 20-year-old ultimately failed to meet Alpine’s expectations for the season.

We tried to stick to single-seaters, maybe do one or two more seasons and see what happens

Caio Collet

“I had a goal that I needed to achieve to stay in the academy and progress [to the next category], and last year I didn’t, so it was as simple as that. […] I think we were quite keen to stay with [them],” Collet said on his departure from the Alpine Academy.

Though Collet started the 2023 season with a podium finish in the Sprint Race in Bahrain, the Brazilian admitted before the start of the weekend that a third year in Formula 3 wasn’t always his first choice when thinking of his 2023 plans.

“The programme was to go to LMP2 and hopefully LMDh the year after, but then we couldn’t really finalize a deal, and it was at the same time that VAR came with a really good proposal. So we tried to stick to single-seaters, maybe do one or two more seasons and see what happens.”

However, Collet confirmed he’s still in contact with Alpine.

“I’m still linked to the academy. For example I still have them on my suit, I can still access all the facilities and all this kind of stuff. I’m not part of the program anymore but I’m still linked [to Alpine], so if I do well this season I can go back or have opportunities in other classes like WEC or stuff like that,” he added.

Minì: ‘It’s a huge step’

As Collet stopped being officially affiliated to the programme, Alpine was on the lookout for a new driver to add to its impressive roster. Ultimately, it was Italy’s Gabriele Minì who got the call to join the French team’s academy. The 17-year-old had an impressive season in FRECA in 2022 — finishing second in the drivers’ standings with three wins and many impressive performances.

His evident speed and raw talent were enough to make him stand out from the crowd, and the Italian showed it with an impressive performance in Bahrain — taking pole and crossing the start-finish line in first in Sunday’s Feature Race before dropping outside of the top five after a time penalty due to a starting procedure infringement

“Of course, being part of their academy is a big step in my career,” Minì said ahead of his F3 debut in Bahrain. “Our goal is always the same. Not much changed [from last season], we just got a really good opportunity with Alpine, and as I said it’s a huge and important step.”

Header photo credit: Formula Motorsport Limited