Renault Sport Academy: Taking Drivers From Grassroots To Glory

Every formula one championship has to begin somewhere. Some started in Formula 2 and 3 while others honed their skills at institutions geared to make them elite drivers.

The grassroots are the designation for the Renault F1 Team initiative as it continues to groom the upcoming generation of formula one champions.

The Renault Sport Academy is the means through which the Renault Team finds and develops young talent. It has one purpose to scour the tours of junior single-seater categories for the next driving protégé.

Practically all of the noted teams have something of a driver development program in place for the young talent they find in the lower rungs.

Drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and Michael Schumacher were all absorbed into driver development programs when they were young. This was with the hopes of churning out greatness when the moment was right. It paid off. Each of them has won the Formula 1 championship more than once.

These programs search for the brightest junior talent and give them everything they need from crucial funding to access to the best fitness training available. The goal was to aid them to rise through the ranks.

The benefits of such a program are self-explanatory. When it comes to the drivers, as it is a significant opportunity to progress through the ladder of the single-seater category with the support, they would not have been able to get by themselves.

In the meantime, the teams will gain access to a steady course of talent they would be able to tap into years into the future.

The Renault Sport Academy is one of the biggest among these driver development initiatives run by a team on the grid. There is a multi-national roster of eight of some of the most talented drivers at present.

Each of them is at different stages of their careers, and they are racing single-seaters but in various categories.

The task of identifying the talent is given to Mia Sharzman, the head of the Renault Sport Academy Program. Though identifying the skills is just the first thing.

Some of the drivers, Sharzman scouts, are as young as 14. Sharzman has to gauge whether they have the mental potential to handle the pressures at tier 1.

Once the driver makes it through this vetting process, they are taken through the best training sessions and given media and career guidance. Drivers are at risk of damaging their careers by climbing too fast up the ladder.

They may not be aware of the best championships to race in or the best teams for drivers. The Renault Sport Academy allows drivers to bypass these potential setbacks and get lined up with the best teams.