Formula Renault 2.0 more relevant than ever on the path to F1

With two drivers in the Renault Sport Formula One Team and four in the ranks of the Renault Sport Academy, the Formula Renault 2.0 fortifies its status as the essential stop in the career of young hopefuls wanting to make it to Formula 1. With 45 years of experience in detecting motor racing aspirants, this key rung in the access pyramid to the pinnacle of the sport will continue to offer competitors the best tools and award schemes for long-term progress.

Recognized for the quality of its programme with an unmatched level of technical and sporting equality and extreme competitiveness, the Formula Renault 2.0 championships form an authentic school of champions. Alain Prost, Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 champions, as well as Grand Prix winners René Arnoux, Didier Pironi, Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Daniel Ricciardo, all starred in Formula Renault 2.0.

This year, the Renault Sport Formula One Team puts its trust in Kevin Magnussen, runner-up in the 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, four years before he won the title in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. In the role as the third driver, Esteban Ocon, third in the 2013 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 before winning the crown in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship then the GP3 Series.

In conjunction, the Renault Sport Academy members heavily featured in Formula Renault 2.0. Developed in the Formula Renault 2.0 programme at the start of his single-seater career, Oliver Rowland is the spearhead after breaking all records in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He will be joined by compatriot Jack Aitken, one of the few to accomplish the incredible Eurocup – ALPS Formula Renault 2.0. double. His rivals Louis Delétraz, who won the NEC title and Kevin Jörg, complete the group of drivers in this first year of the Renault Sport Academy.

In past development programmes, Renault has taken Robert Kubica, Lucas di Grassi, Pastor Maldonado, Heikki Kovalainen, Jérôme d’Ambrosio and Romain Grosjean to Formula 1. Oliver Rowland, Jack Aitken, Louis Delétraz and Kevin Jörg will try to join this illustrious group.

For 2016, the aim of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 will be to find another diamond in the rough during a season where the competitors will battle in the streets of Monaco, in the curtain raiser for the most famous Grand Prix in the world and in front of the Formula 1 powerbrokers, which is a unique opportunity in the global motor racing landscape.

Fréderic Vasseur, Racing Director, Renault Sport Racing: ”The Renault Sport Academy is a comprehensive programme encompassing all the areas necessary for a young driver to develop and achieve great success in motor racing. We want to develop the champions of tomorrow and we want the future Renault Sport Formula One Team driver line-up to be drawn from the ranks of the Renault Sport Academy. We are giving them everything they need to reach this objective.”

Jean-Pascal Dauce, Customer Racing Programs Director, Renault Sport Racing: ‘’The Formula Renault 2.0 has played a major role in the promotion of the drivers. The Renault Sport Academy will make every effort to help them progress and, if all goes well, prepare them to move up to the Renault Sport Formula One Team. This appreciation of the Formula Renault 2.0 again demonstrates the quality and excellence of this category. Renault has always contributed to the emergence of the most promising talent and it is not about to stop!”

Oliver Rowland: “It’s a great honour to be a part of the Renault Sport Academy. I’m delighted to be included in this new generation and very proud of the confidence Renault Sport Racing is showing in me. It is even more special for me as I have only raced in the Renault promotion categories. I intend to repay them fully in terms of performance and hopefully all throughout my career. To receive help and advice from an F1 team is priceless.”

Jack Aitken: “It is the dream of all young drivers to be selected to join the junior programme of an F1 team, as that first contact with Formula 1 is essential. I will receive strong support while learning a lot. I’m looking forward to the pressures such a role will bring. It’s a results driven sport and it’s good to have that pressure on you to succeed.”

Louis Delétraz: “It is amazing to be a part of the Academy. It is a huge chance and I am determined to make the most of it. Competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 allowed me to be close to Renault and I got a real insight into what they are all about. I have had some great moments in my career in their championships and I am looking forward to working with them in a Formula 1 environment.”

Kevin Jörg: “To know that if I do well I have a chance to be in Formula 1 is incredible. It is the kind of opportunity that can be life changing. Thanks to Renault, good drivers have gone on for fine careers and it is just one part of its great history, the names that have gone through the development programme speak for themselves.”