Ex-Lotus Formula 1 development driver Carmen Jorda will return to the Enstone team as Alpine’s head of F1 Academy.
As part of Alpine's renewal of its commercial partnership with Qatar Airways, it’s been announced that Jorda will “lead female driver mentorship initiatives”, including supporting Alpine’s F1 Academy entry in 2026.
It marks a return to Enstone for Jorda, who joined the then-Lotus F1 team in early 2015 as one of its development drivers.
That came off the back of three point-less seasons in GP3 (now FIA Formula 3), where Jorda achieved a best race result of 13th and a best championship result of 28th.
She completed simulator work with the team with a view to getting behind the wheel of one of its F1 cars later in the year. But that never transpired, with Jorda splitting from what had then become the Renault F1 team once more during 2016.
There was plenty of controversy during that tenure surrounding Jorda’s appointment, given her lack of success on the junior ladder.
Rally legend and head of FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission, Michele Mouton, made a clear dig at Jorda after listing off female drivers she believed to be better F1 prospects.
“Other, less successful girls have managed to climb the motorsport ladder, but that has more to do with marketing strategies and political reasons, and I am not interested in that,” Mouton said.
Then, speaking in 2016 after Jorda’s exit, ex-Lotus protege Marco Sorensen claimed Jorda was 12 seconds slower than him in the simulator but got better opportunities, to which Jorda replied via Spanish publication AS: "I honestly don't know who he is. I haven't ever seen him in Enstone. Last year he was not part of the team."
Jorda said she was “more or less within a second” of then-race driver Romain Grosjean.
Thereafter, Jorda tested a Formula E car, entered but didn’t participate in the evaluation test for the first-ever season of the all-female W Series, and joined the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission, despite making controversial remarks that women couldn’t compete equally with men.
In 2018, Jorda told ESPN that female drivers should aim for Formula E rather than F1 because it has a “less physical car”.
Jorda’s return
Jorda will take up a number of commercial responsibilities with Alpine’s partner Qatar Airways, alongside assisting the F1 Academy driver Alpine chooses for 2026.
“She will engage in fan experiences and community outreach programmes that highlight the airline’s commitment to empowerment and excellence,” Alpine’s release said.
The 35-year-old said she was “honoured” to lead Alpine’s driver mentorship within F1 Academy.
Other F1 teams have employed current or former female drivers to help their F1 Academy drivers, such as Indy NXT race winner Jamie Chadwick at Williams, Jessica Hawkins at Aston Martin and W Series race winner Alice Powell (previously at Alpine) - who supported Abbi Pulling to the 2024 F1 Academy crown.
