Renault Sport Academy Mid-Season Newsletter Renault Sport Academy Mid-Season Newsletter For 2019, the Renault Sport Academy – now in its fourth season - took on four new recruits as Chinese drivers Guanyu Zhou and Yifei Ye, Frenchman Anthoine Hubert and Brazilian teenager Caio Collet all joined the programme. Reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion Max Fewtrell, Eurocup runner- up Christian Lundgaard and Victor Martins were retained from the 2018 intake. Guanyu and Anthoine entered the FIA Formula 2 Championship as rookies, joining Renault F1 Team Test Driver Jack Aitken – an Academy graduate for 2019 – in the primary Formula 1 feeder category. Max, Christian and Yifei stepped up from the Eurocup to the newly formed FIA Formula 3 Championship, formerly GP3, with Max and Christian as team- mates with Team’s Champions ART Grand Prix. Victor remained in the Eurocup with French Formula 4 Champion Caio joining him in the series. Leonardo Lorandi became Renault Sport Racing’s second-ever Affiliate Driver, announced during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, and was placed in the Eurocup. FORMULA 2 Guanyu Zhou entered the 2019 season after back-to-back eighth place finishes in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. He signed with the Academy in 2019 alongside his role as Development Driver for Renault F1 Team. Racing for UNI-Virtuosi, Guanyu sits sixth in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, also occupying the spot as top rookie. Guanyu made a bright start to the year in Bahrain, finishing tenth in race one and a superb fourth in race two. That was followed by disappointment in Baku, but since then, Guanyu has been a regular top six points scorer. He enjoyed his first Formula 2 podium in Spain and backed that up with an impressive debut run on the Monaco streets with fifth and a Sprint race third. Further podiums followed in France and Silverstone, where Guanyu recorded his first Formula 2 pole position after dominating qualifying. Guanyu rounded off the first part of the year with two ninth places in Hungary as he sets his sights on edging towards the top five in the championship. In conjunction to his racing, Zhou has taken part in multiple runs in Renault- powered Formula 1 cars. In Shanghai, Zhou took part in the Fan Festival in the 2012 E20, before driving the same car on track as a build-up to the 1,000th Grand Prix. In between another demo run at Goodwood, Zhou tested the R.S.17 – his first attempt in a modern Formula 1 car with a hybrid engine – in Austria, France and recently in Spain. FORMULA 2 Anthoine Hubert was already on Renault’s books in 2018 as Renault Sport Racing’s Affiliate Driver. He stepped up to become a full Academy member this year as a result of winning the GP3 Series title. Anthoine races for BWT-Arden and, like Guanyu, has relied on consistent performances to ensure he remains well inside the top eight of the championship. Anthoine sits second best rookie, closely behind Guanyu. The Frenchman shone at the season-opener with a Feature Race fourth after charging from eleventh on the grid. Baku proved frustrating but Anthoine enjoyed an excellent run of form with finishes of sixth and fifth in Spain before back-to-back Formula 2 wins. The first came in Monaco as a result of starting the Sprint race on pole, before repeating the same feat on home turf in France in front of an electric French crowd. A fourth-place finish in the Austria Feature Race remain his latest points, as Anthoine aims for a return to scoring after the summer break. Like Zhou, Anthoine also tested the R.S.17 in Austria for his first run in a modern Formula 1 car. GUANYU ZHOU Guanyu Zhou: “I feel the season has been going pretty well. I did not expect to be fighting for Feature Race wins and pole positions Targets for the rest at an early stage. It’s great to have adapted quickly to a new car. of the season: We’ve worked well as a team and improved quite a lot during each “I want to win a Feature Race. We’re race. I’m happy with how I’ve performed at every round this year but there’s still work to do. There’s sometimes a lack of experience getting close and I know we can do it.” in the Feature Race, especially managing tyres, but overall it’s been good.” Favourite Moment: “The Feature Race podium in Barcelona. It Guanyu Zhou BAH BAK CAT MCO LEC RBR SIL HUN was my first podium in Formula 2 after finishing third and it’s 6th, 107 pts always a great feeling. I’m the only rookie this season to be on the Race 1 10 RET 3 5 4 6 3 9 podium in the Feature Race and it was an amazing moment.” Race 2 4 10 4 3 3 8 8 9 ANTHOINE HUBERT Anthoine Hubert: “The first part of the season has been better than I expected. Of course, being a rookie in Formula 2 and being Targets for the rest with a team rebuilding itself is not easy and we went into the of the season: season after tough winter tests. I’m quite happy to be where I am “We want to be fighting for podiums in the in the championship and the pace we have every weekend. We’re missing some consistency, we’ve not scored at the last couple of Feature Race and scoring big points. The Feature rounds, but overall, I’m happy.” Race is the one that really matters because you know if you’re in the top eight you have another Favourite Moment: “The wins in Monaco and France are the chance of scoring well in the Sprint. Scoring in standouts, but if I have to pick one then it’s the victory in France. every race is the goal and I know we can still The support was mega with all the French flags and hearing the achieve great things this year.” national anthem on the podium was amazing.” Calendar: Anthoine Hubert BAH BAK CAT MCO LEC RBR SIL HUN 8th, 77 pts Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 30 August – 1 September Race 1 4 10 6 8 8 4 18 11 / Monza, Italy, 6-8 September / Sochi, Russia, 27-29 Race 2 9 11 5 1 1 17 11 11 September / Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, 29 November – 1 December FORMULA 3 Christian Lundgaard and Max Fewtrell, racing as team-mates with ART Grand Prix, have impressed in a so far challenging maiden season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. Both are in their third season as Renault Sport Academy Drivers having battled for the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup title. Christian crossed the line first in the inaugural FIA Formula 3 race in Barcelona, but was handed a time-penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement and fell to second. The middle part of the season has proved tricky with bad luck making points hard to come by. But, the Dane enjoyed a solid weekend in Silverstone with a front row place in qualifying followed by finishes of seventh and fifth. He backed that up in Hungary by taking the maximum 31 points from a race after taking pole position, a lights to flag victory and the fastest lap in race one. Max, too, has experienced a similar season to Christian. Things began brightly in Spain with finishes of fifth and eighth before a difficult outing in France with no points on the board. Max recovered well, qualifying second and finishing in the same place in Austria. Another frustrating weekend at home in Silverstone was next but again Max bounced back well to take second in Budapest. Christian and Max are the top two ‘rookie’ drivers in the Championship having not driven Formula 3 machinery before. Max tested the R.S.17 in Barcelona, Spain in August for his maiden attempt in a hybrid-engine Formula 1 car. Yifei Ye was announced to the Academy in April at a Renault China event at the Shanghai International Circuit during the 1,000th Grand Prix weekend. Yifei has endured a difficult season to date and has not scored points, with a best finish of eleventh in Silverstone. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD Christian Lundgaard: “The first part of the season has been tough mentally, with up and down moments. We started very well Targets for the rest but have had our struggles. I’m confident we can make up the of the season: difference before the end of the season. Consistency is key in the “My target for the rest of the season is to be more championship and unfortunately, we have been weak so far on that. We need to work harder than ever to get back towards the consistent and score points in every race.” top of the championship. There has been a lot of things to learn and I’m gaining a lot of experience because of it.” Christian Lundgaard CAT LEC RBR SIL HUN Favourite Moment: “The Budapest weekend was really strong. I 5th, 73pts was extremely happy with it in general and we just had the pace Race 1 2 RET 26 7 1 right from the start. We were well prepared and everything went Race 2 6 18 17 5 5 well. To finally stand on the top step of the podium is a massive confidence boost and keeping this momentum is important.” MAX FEWTRELL Max Fewtrell: “It’s been a rollercoaster season so far.