Alice Powell becomes Talent Identification & Development Mentor for Alpine Academy

Hailing from ChippingNorton, less than five miles away from Enstone, Alice made history in 2009 asthe youngest-ever female driver in the Formula Renault UK Championship. A yearlater, she became the first female driver to win a Formula Renault Championshiprace with victory in the BARC competition. Alice would also finish third in theinaugural running of the W Series in 2019. This included a memorable home winat Brands Hatch. In 2021, Alice pushed eventual champion Jamie Chadwick all theway to the final race of the season, notching three wins and five podiumsen-route to second in the Drivers’ standings.

Abbi joinedthe Affiliate program this year, ahead of her second season in the W Series.She recently made history, along with Aseel Al Hamad, as the first women toever drive Formula 1 cars in Saudi Arabia, getting behind the wheel of theV8-powered E20. Abbi finished seventh in her inaugural W Series campaign, whichincluded a hard-earned podium at the Circuit of the Americas.

The W Seriesreturns this weekend as the Miami International Autodrome hosts the openinground of the 2022 championship on the undercard for the first FIA Formula 1World Championship race in Miami.

AlicePowell: “I’mdelighted to join the team. More and more opportunities for women withinmotorsport are emerging now, but budding drivers often lack guidance andexperience in the early days of their career. The Alpine Academy is anextremely useful stepping stone for all drivers. It provides a sense ofcredibility and has a defined place on the motorsport ladder. Mentoring is veryimportant. We need to change the mindset of young women that theseopportunities do exist, but to also give them the resilience to reach out andgrab these opportunities with both hands.”

Abbi Pulling: “I’m really happy to be working closely with Alice. I’ve found theAffiliate programme already to be very beneficial. I’ve recently had my first drivein a Formula 1 car and enjoyed some other track time ahead of my W Seriescampaign thanks to the Affiliate programme. It’s a really supportiveenvironment which is also really useful for me to hopefully show other youngwomen that the opportunities in motorsport are there, you just need the driveand motivation to seize them.”

JulianRouse, Alpine Academy Director: “We are committed to developing our pool of talent and bringing evenmore drivers through to F1. Through this programme we want to ensure women havean equal opportunity to do so. Alice will be a great asset to the team as wemove forward with our Academy and Affiliate programme. Her role of identifyingyoung racers, particularly female, and then guiding them through her extensiveexperience is incredibly useful and reassuring for the emerging potentialtalents we are seeing now.”