Метка: Alpine

Victor Martins enters Alpine Hypercar mix with WEC rookie test

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


«Honestly, it’s not putting on any pressure». That is what Victor Martins told Motorsport.com ahead of the Formula 2 season which he entered as one of the drivers tipped to battle for championship honours in 2024.

After all, he was the highest-placed 2023 driver to return for the new season, having finished fifth on 150 points, a total 20 greater than future Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman. This after winning the previous year’s F3 title!

However, the season has so far failed to live up to the lofty expectations with the opening five rounds ensuring that the rest of the campaign was simply a damage limitation exercise.

While this could, in part, be put down to the clear problems that ART was having in getting up to speed with how best to use the all-new F2 chassis, it is also possible that all of the pre-season hype had in fact crept under the Frenchman’s skin.

Ultimately, a run of just four top 10 results in the opening 10 races of the season derailed any hope that Martins had of gaining an F1 promotion, a possibility that became a genuine reality when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine exit was confirmed following May’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Alpine ultimately looked in-house for Ocon’s replacement, finally settling on Jack Doohan in August – but this followed what was widely viewed as a shootout test between the Australian and former F1 driver turned Alpine World Endurance Championship pilot, Mick Schumacher. Note the lack of Martins in this.

Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine for his rookie F1 season

Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine for his rookie F1 season

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

While Martins had unquestionably suffered with poor luck in the early phase of the year – an engine failure in Bahrain, being caught out by red flags in Australian qualifying and being the innocent bystander in a Monaco lap one crash — there were also very costly errors from himself like a lap one crash in Saudi Arabia and a woeful qualifying at Imola.

Combined, this appeared to put Martins out of contention for a seat which, for many, was his to lose should it become available.

However, the Frenchman has since become a tantalising prospect once more, with an uptick in form seeing him become one of the F2 form drivers with four second-place finishes in the last eight races.

Now eighth in the championship, Alpine has seen enough to position Martins as its candidate for the WEC rookie test which will take place in Bahrain on 3 November.

Alpine endurance team principal Philippe Sinault said: «We have the opportunity to run Victor Martins in the Rookie Test session. He is an excellent driver we know well, Alpine Academy member and working a lot with the Formula 1 team in the simulator.

«We want to give him a new experience behind the wheel of an endurance prototype and he will be able to bring a fresh perspective to our Hypercar, which is always interesting at this phase of the programme.»

This could offer a potential next step for Martins, with only an F1 reserve role appearing likely in the short term.

And the chance of securing a WEC race seat is a realistic prospect, with recently appointed sporting director Nicolas Lapierre retiring from his driving role creating one opening, and the future of Schumacher and questions over whether Mercedes would allow Jules Gounon, who is the current reserve driver and has several outings to his name already, to complete a full campaign creating further space.

Alpine is fourth in the 2024 Hypercar standings

Alpine is fourth in the 2024 Hypercar standings

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Speaking of his initial opportunity in the test, Martins said: «I am super happy with this opportunity, and I am very grateful to Alpine Endurance Team for allowing me to continue learning in the world of motorsport.

«It is an opportunity for me to continue to build my experience with new engineers and a new car, as well as an opportunity to show my potential.»

But while the opportunity to compete in WEC and the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours are likely to be an enticing prospect, Martins conceded: «Although I am very focused on my single-seater journey, it is a challenge that I accept with pleasure and I hope that we will maximize the Rookie Test day, both on my side for learning, but also to allow the team to have good data as part of their development.

«I can’t wait to discover this Hypercar, which looks very fast!»

So is Martins the WEC answer that Alpine is searching for, or is he simply a box ticked for the rookie test?

Well, the answer is probably yes to both. He is the ideal answer to fill the potential driving void for the future and could likely become a top-level talent in WEC. But given that even in the statement released by Alpine confirming his test he is pouring cold water on the prospect of a switch at this stage of his career, it seems that a full-time crossover is not foremost on his radar.

While there is no harm in running a third F2 season, it is not something that is viewed in a broadly positive light, meaning that many drivers linked to F1 teams fall instead into reserve roles, with varying levels of testing programmes to keep their hand in and evaluate their F1 potential.

Just as was the case with Doohan, this is the most likely option for Martins.

So having answered yes to him being the ideal answer to Alpine’s problems – which he undoubtedly has the potential to be – the answer to the question, will he be the eventual answer, is probably a no at this stage.

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How a world karting champion ended up an F1 team boss

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Oliver Oakes might be able to lay claim to being the quickest team principal in F1, but for the meantime however, he has his work cut out in saying the same for his Alpine team.


Oakes, 36, is the latest incumbent in charge of the Enstone-based team that in recent seasons has seen it slump steadily towards the back of the grid. 

Now, though, after a period of turbulence, he is hoping that alongside Renault’s CEO Luca de Meo and Flavio Briatore, who is acting as a special supervisor to Renault’s F1 project, the trio can bring some stability and deliver an upturn in results for the beleaguered team.


Oakes has racing pedigree. His father Billy was the founder and owner of the former Formula Renault and British F3 team, Eurotek Motorsport.


He started karting at just four years old and in 2005 was crowned the world karting champion. At one point was part of the Red Bull Junior Team alongside Sebastian Vettel, Brendon Hartley, Jamie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.

When we meet in the Alpine hospitality unit, the subject of his early motorsport career quickly pops up, and he jokes that if he suggested he was the quickest team boss, then he might be getting a text message from McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown, who also continues to compete, rather sharpish.

«Sometimes I was quick,» he says when asked by Autosport what went wrong with his own driving career, «but ultimately not quick enough, hence why I am on this side of the fence! I had my moments. [Red Bull motorsport advisor] Helmut Marko has been pretty brutal that I did not translate that into cars. I think he he is half-right. I did in some cars but not all of them.


Oliver Oakes, Carlin Motorsport. Formula BMW Testing, Silverstone, England

Oliver Oakes, Carlin Motorsport. Formula BMW Testing, Silverstone, England

Photo by: Edd Hartley

«I don’t know why it did not work out. Perhaps I should ask myself that and do some soul searching! When you look back to then, obviously when you were young, and there were things you could have done differently. There were some things that didn’t go your way. It is a mixture of things.


«Like everything in racing, there is not one silver bullet. But I also feel quite lucky from the other side that I did do all of that; from karting all the way up to F3 level and came out of it and achieving a dream another way.”

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Oakes is referring to the Hitech GP team he set up in 2015 and now runs successfully across six different championships, including Formula 2 and Formula 3.

Having grown Hitech GP as a business and a successful team, Oakes feels he can utilise his experience as a former driver turned team owner to good effect at Alpine, where he will now focus his full attention.


He added: «Definitely having a little bit of the driving background helps, you have to be careful not to do too much, because you think it is the engineers or its the car…and its not the driver. But then you can balance that and go too much the other way.


«Actually it is kind of strange. If someone asked me today, what do I think has been the biggest help having taken this job, from my background, I think it is a mixture of all of it. 

«The driving bit was pretty decent but I was lucky my mum made me go to school. Although I used to complain like hell to her on a Monday morning and going in for 8am after I got back in the early hours from racing in Italy!


Paul Aron, Hitech Grand Prix

Paul Aron, Hitech Grand Prix

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

«And then also building and growing my own company, from the business side; those six teams, 100 people and building that up.
»If I put it all together in a mix, I feel quite fortunate that I had all of that and I guess you call it a different education. I had a racing education.”

When James Vowles took over at Williams from Mercedes, he hit the headlines for mentioning how he was shocked the team was using an Excel spreadsheet for managing more than 20,000 car parts, saying it was «impossible to navigate».

Oakes says he has not had anything comparable during his first few months at Enstone but does admit there are areas of the campus that require some investment.


«I sort of knew different facets of it from the last couple of year,» he said. «There has obviously been a lot of change. When Otmar [Szafnauer] was here, he was a mate, so through catching up with him occasionally, you’d learn things.
»I arrived without anything much predetermined because you have to take things as they come and I dare say you never really get the truth until you get down in the weeds and see it. You have to suss things out for yourself.


«But since I have been here, lots has been talked about over the years, what has been done and for what reasons. At the moment I am front foot forward and we need o push on and the past is in the past.


«Some parts of Enstone have had a lot of investment and there are some parts that are still as they were, not quite as far back as Flavio’s time, but there are a lot of good bits and a lot of bits that we can keep improving but I think actually I would not say anything like [what Vowles found at Williams].»

Oakes replaced Bruno Famin, who was only in the role for just over a year while Szafnauer also had a similarly-short stint before being axed. 
And the Brit’s arrival coincides during a turbulent period as Renault ceases its F1 engine operation, causing disharmony within Renault’s plant in Viry-Châtillon.

Oliver Oakes, Team Principal Alpine F1 Team, Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor, Alpine F1

Oliver Oakes, Team Principal Alpine F1 Team, Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor, Alpine F1

Photo by: Alpine

Add into the mix Oakes will be working alongside the divisive character that is Briatore, who ran the Enstone team during its most-dominate period when it won the constructors’ and drivers’ championship with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.
 The Italian’s presence will only magnify the pressure on Oakes, but he says it is «a nice pressure».


He added: «There is pressure for myself, yes, because I don’t like walking to the back of the grid. The job comes with pressure but I think it is different…I think years back a sport’s psychologist, who told me some thing that sticks with me. Pressure is like something that comes out of the shower as water pressure.


«I actually see leading a F1 team as a responsibility. There are a thousand people who rely on you for leadership to make the right decision. That’s one word I would use, and the other is competitive. You want to be the best.
I am pragmatic in that I know F1 is complexed you have a lot of big teams that are well run and have been doing it for a long time with a lot more stability than us. 


«But actually, I am quite excited about that because the great thing about F1 is that you are always judged constantly and if you can do a good job, everyone sees it. I put it on myself because I want to do well.


«Having Flavio is a great help and big part of why I committed to coming on this journey. I call it the project. 
He pushes because he wants to see this team go back to the front of the grid and anyone know knows him knows that Enstone is his baby.


«We all have a first love in life and he would not mind me saying that. For him, it is something that he really cares about and is what attracted me to doing this, and also working with him because he is hugely experienced. He’s hugely successful whether that be in F1 or his restaurant businesses and you know that he is committed.


«Ultimately maybe right or wrongly, I sat there and tracked back looking at teams that became successful in F1 and most of the time it was because of really strong leadership at the top and that can be two, three or four people really aligned and that is normally that is the owner and the senior management of the team.
 When I spent time speaking to him and Luca [de Meo], you could see their passion for the project. You could see that age is a number is is pretty about what drives you.»


Oliver Oakes, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team

Oliver Oakes, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Oakes though, is looking to stamp his own mark on the Alpine team. Insiders have praised his openness and willingness to communicate and already there is a sense of the mood lifting within the organisation and finally a feeling that the team is finally pointing in the right direction again. 

«There are a lot of different management styles,» he says. «It is interesting because you can see a real mix today. There was a bit of a trend of entrepreneurs, guys who started their teams and then ran it. Then there was another trend of ex-engineers being team principals. 


«But everybody does what best suits their background. I don’t claim to be the best engineer or the best businessman, or the best driver. 

«
I am all about, ‘if we are going to be successful we need to have the best people and a good culture to empower those people’. 
Those are the simple things we need to get right and something Enstone did really well in the past.»



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Lapierre to become Alpine sporting director in WEC after retirement

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre will take a new management role at Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team following his retirement from racing.

Having announced his decision to hang up his helmet earlier this week, Lapierre will move into a newly-created role of sporting director at the Alpine Endurance Team to assist team principal Philippe Sinault.

Although his new job will formally begin on 1 January 2025, the Frenchman will take up the position in November’s Bahrain 8 Hours finale in order to familiarise himself with the role.

The 40-year-old pulled the curtain down on his racing career after last month’s Fuji round to focus «on the other side of the pitwall», a role that brought him more joy than he anticipated since he started CLX Motorsport — which operates under the Cool Racing banner — in 2020.

«Alpine has always shown a tremendous amount of confidence in me, not least by giving me the chance to develop the A424 and then start this first season behind the wheel,” he said.

«After expressing the wish to end my career as a professional driver, I am delighted to confirm that I am continuing the adventure with the team, but this time on the other side of the pitwall.

«I’ll try to bring all my experience to our drivers and be the link with our technical teams. Endurance racing is on a great trajectory, and I believe in the Alpine project. We must continue our relentless efforts to reach the next levels together.»

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Lapierre has been racing alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh in 2024, scoring the programme’s maiden podium finish in Japan in September.

With Lapierre stepping down from racing with a round still to run, his place in the two-car Alpine team in Bahrain will be taken over by reserve driver Jules Gounon, although Alpine didn’t explicitly confirm that he will be driving the #36 A424.

Gounon was already down to compete in the eight-hour race at the Bahrain International Circuit in place of Charles Milesi as part of a plan agreed internally before the start of the season. But it now appears that Milesi will see out the season in the #35 Alpine.

On the decision to promote Lapierre to a management role, Sinault said: «We have been discussing this prospect together for several months now.

«Apart from our mutual desire, it represents a logical and natural continuation of the prosperous collaboration we have shared over the last few years, particularly under the Alpine colours.

«We’ve grown up together and won many races and several titles! We know each other exceptionally well, and there is mutual trust. I want to thank Nicolas for accepting, and I’m looking forward to seeing him contribute to the team’s development in his new role.»

Lapierre played a pivotal role in the development of the Alpine A424 challenger, having brought with him more than 15 years of experience in prototype machinery.

«Right from the outset of the A424 programme, Nicolas has been one of the key actors. He was the first to drive the car and contributed significantly to its development,» said Alpine motorsport chief Bruno Famin.

«He is part of the Alpine family. In addition to his proven qualities as a driver and human being, he has gained a wealth of experience outside the car in recent years.

«Together with Philippe, it was clear to us that Nicolas could naturally bring a great deal to the team through his sporting director role, and we are genuinely delighted that Nicolas has
accepted.»

It remains unclear whether Lapierre will stay as team principal at Cool Racing, an outfit that he founded together with Alexandre Coigny. When asked by Motorsport.com, an Alpine spokesperson declined to comment.

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Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Lapierre retires with immediate effect

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Nicolas Lapierre has retired from the cockpit with immediate effect to concentrate on running his Cool Racing team.

The announcement from the Frenchman, 40, on Wednesday means that last month’s Fuji round of the World Endurance Championship, in which he finished third with Alpine, was his final race. 

“It is time for me to hang up my helmet and end this chapter of my life,” said Lapierre in a short video post on Instagram. “It was great to finish this journey on the podium and spray the Champagne once more. It was an honour for me to live for my passion, with so many years doing what I love.”

Lapierre said that it was now “time for a new chapter of my life on the other side of the pitwall”. He added: “I love it as much as I loved racing, so I won’t be far away.”

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Nicolas Lapierre, Alpine A424

Photo by: Alpine

Lapierre will be focusing on the CLX Motorsport operation he founded with Alexandre Coigny in 2020. The team runs under the Cool Racing banner and is based in Annecy in France, just across the border from Geneva. It has competed in LMP2 and LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series, as well as at the Le Mans 24 Hours in P2. 

Lapierre took the opportunity in his video statement to thank multiple players from a career in which he was a race winner in GP2 and A1 Grand Prix and in the WEC with both Toyota and Alpine. 

Among them were Philippe Sinault, who had a role in some of his biggest successes in both single-seaters and sportscars.

Sinault runs the Signatech team that has masterminded Alpine’s endurance racing campaigns since 2013 and its forerunner, Signature, for which Lapierre won the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix in 2003. 

He also singled out Jean-Paul Driot, the late founder and boss of the DAMS team.

“I am thinking also of Jean-Paul Driot; he left too early,” said Lapierre. “With him and his team I could get my first GP2 win in 2007 — he definitely changed my career.”

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Nicolas Lapierre, DAMS, crosses the finish line to take victory

Also mentioned were ORECA boss Hugues de Chaunac, who gave Lapierre his first chance in sportscar racing in ’07 and with whom he won the 2011 Sebring 12 Hours aboard a semi-works Peugeot 908 HDi LMP1. 

Lapierre’s contract with ORECA smoothed his way into Toyota’s LMP1 line-up on the rebirth of the WEC in 2012 because the French organisation was part of the Japanese manufacturer’s race set-up until the end of 2020. 

He would go on to win six WEC races with Toyota before being controversially sacked mid-season in 2014 after crashing at both Le Mans and the Austin round, even though he was on slick tyres in heavy rain both times. 

Lapierre paid tribute to former ORECA technical director David Floury, who now fulfils the same role at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, for his encouragement at that time. 

“He was a very important person in my career and also my life,” he said. “I was probably at the lowest point of my racing career: I was very close to stopping racing and he was the one who brought me back.”

Lapierre’s announcement comes at a time when Cool is known to be one of the candidates to partner with Hyundai Motorsport as it gears up for its entry into the prototype ranks with a new LMDh under the South Korean manufacturer’s premium Genesis brand. 

It is expected that Lapierre’s place in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh alongside Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere for the 2024 WEC finale in Bahrain will be taken by Jules Gounon. 

Gounon is Alpine’s official reserve driver and was brought into the line-up for Fuji as part of a plan agreed before the start of the season to increase his experience in the Hypercar division. 

He replaced Paul-Loup Chatin and the same agreement called for him to step in for Bahrain in place of Charles Milesi, who has been Alpine’s standout performer during its move towards the front of the Hypercar field since Le Mans.

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Renault faces staff backlash for ending F1 engine project

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Renault’s plan to scrap its Formula 1 engine department has been met with disdain by some of the workforce at the Viry-Chatillon factory located just outside of Paris.

The CSE, Social and Economic Committee of the Alpine engine subsidiary, had campaigned hard in an attempt to persuade Renault CEO Luca de Meo not to throw in the towel.

However, their attempts ultimately failed and Alpine looks set to use Mercedes engines from the 2026 season onwards.

Renault has announced the Viry-Chatillon plant will be focused on future technologies involving both Alpine and Renault branded cars while the site will still contain an F1 monitoring unit.

There was little information on the cessation of its F1 operation in Renault’s release and the CSE has voiced its concerns about de Meo’s decision and claims that «this decision against the tide causes Alpine to miss out on its sporting history».

A statement said: «All staff representatives, representing the voice of employees and a majority of stakeholders, regret and deplore the decision to stop F1 engines in 2026.

«This choice is endorsed by the group, which wishes to reduce the financial risk surrounding F1, even though no serious study has been conducted to assess the impact on future sales and the prestige of the brand.

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Photo by: Anaël Bernier — Horizons Multiples

«Partnership solutions were rejected by the group, even though they would have made it possible to meet several objectives: maintaining F1 activity, reducing development and operating costs, maintaining all skills, and the possibility of bringing an already largely developed and promising RE26 engine to the 2026 season.»

The CSE adds that is has concerns about the proposals for staff at the Viry-Chatillon factory, adding that it believes the low staffing levels would inhibit the potential return of Alpine as an engine supplier in the long term.

The statement added: «The history of the Viry site shows that conflicting decisions have often been taken, and demonstrates the importance of maintaining highly qualified skills for the future in order to leave the door open to a return to F1 when the regulations and the financial context of the shareholder make it more attractive.»

The CSE statement also says it is concerned the Viry-Chatillon site will go from 500 to 334 jobs on 1 January and will see the termination of the contracts of many service providers.

It believes that will in turn result in a further 100 job losses in indirect jobs among the main partners by the end of this year. And it says it will see the end of the Alpine Mechanical Excellence Competition — a government-backed apprenticeship trying to create equal opportunities and promoting diversity.

In summary, the CSE statement concluded that «the lack of maturity of the projects brought forward and the loss of confidence in management pose a major risk of critical skills leaving the Viry site.

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Photo by: Anaël Bernier — Horizons Multiples

«Despite the turmoil of the last two months, the Viry team has continued to develop the power of the 2026 engine that Alpine is depriving itself of. This decision against the tide causes Alpine to miss out on its sporting history.

«For all these reasons, the CSE staff representatives unanimously gave an unfavourable opinion on the transformation project.

«We call on the public authorities to defend the sustainability of employment on the Viry-Chatillon site.»

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Renault to end F1 engine project with Alpine set for Mercedes switch in 2026

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Renault will pull the plug on its Formula 1 engine operations ahead of the new rules era in 2026.

Following months of speculation about the future of the French manufacturer, with Alpine having long been in talks with Mercedes for a customer power unit deal, the fate of its operations was finally announced on Monday.

In a statement it was revealed that the company’s F1 engine factory at Viry-Chatillon near Paris would be transformed into an engineering centre to help contribute to cutting-edge technology of future Renault and Alpine cars.

That would be as a consequence of Renault abandoning work on its 2026 F1 engines.

The statement said that Viry would, however, continue its effort to supply the current turbo-hybrid engine to Alpine until the end of next season.

“Formula 1 activities at Viry, excluding the development of a new engine, will continue until the end of the 2025 season,” said the statement.

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Alpine protestors from Viry-Chatillon

Photo by: Anaël Bernier — Horizons Multiples

The alternative projects that have been marked out for Viry include the development of a future Alpine Supercar, work on future battery technology and R&D on electric motor technologies.

Viry would also continue to contribute to Renault’s other motorsport activities, including Alpine’s World Endurance Championship programme, as well as customer projects, plus Formula E and Rally-Raid efforts for partner brands.

Despite abandoning its F1 engine, Alpine has said it would keep monitoring developments in grand prix racing.

The statement added: “Following the consultation process and dialogue with the employee representatives at Viry-Châtillon, Alpine has decided to establish an F1 monitoring unit.

“This unit will aim to maintain employees’ knowledge and skills in this sport and remain at the forefront of innovation for Hypertech Alpine’s various projects.”

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Alpine ‘pushing’ to retain Mick Schumacher in WEC line-up next year

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Alpine says it is doing all it can to retain Mick Schumacher as a part of its Hypercar line-up in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Schumacher joined Alpine at the start of its new LMDh programme this year to race the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the WEC, having spent the 2023 season on the sidelines after being ousted by Haas in Formula 1.

But the German driver still harbours aspirations of racing in F1 and has made it clear on multiple occasions that his priority for 2025 is to be back on the grand prix grid.

In response to speculation about his future, Philippe Sinault, team principal of Signatech Alpine, says the French marque is in active dialogue with the 25-year-old to convince him to stay at the squad for a second term.

Asked how confident he was about retaining Schumacher next year, he told Motorsport.com: “It’s difficult to say. I hope [he stays].

“We push and we say to him immediately that for us it’s a really really key point that he must stay with us.

“But nothing [is] in my hand. Formula 1 is still Formula 1. We have to wait again. I hope in the short term we have some news about that.”

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere, #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere, #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, Norman Nato

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Alpine itself considered Schumacher for a seat at its F1 team next year as it debated a replacement for Haas-bound Esteban Ocon, but eventually chose its junior driver Jack Doohan to partner Pierre Gasly.

Alpine motorsport boss Bruno Famin, who has a management role at both its F1 and WEC programmes, said he was impressed by Schumacher’s performance this year and is hoping he will continue with the squad in 2025.

“I’m very happy with Mick. He has done a very good job,” Famin told Motorsport.com.

“His adaptation to endurance has been incredible, very fast, very good, everybody knows that for a single-seater driver it’s not easy.

“And especially for him at the beginning of the year he was really focused on how to get a seat in Formula 1 and he is still on that.

“But if you put that aside, he is really focused on the programme. We saw again in Austin how fast he was during the race.

“I’m very happy with Mick, if we have the opportunity to continue together we are really happy.”

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Schumacher’s chances of making an F1 comeback in the short-term appear to be slim, with only Sauber having a vacant seat for 2025.

Asked what Alpine can do to retain Schumacher’s services next year, Famin said: “To be better.

“It’s not only what the team can do, it’s [about his personal choice].

“We all know that Mick’s number one priority would be if he had the possibility [to return to F1], but we know that there is only one [seat] left to have the opportunity to go back to Formula 1.

“Let’s see what we do, what will be the final decision. From our side we will be happy [if he stays].”

Both Famin and Sinault stated that they hope Schumacher will extend his relationship with Alpine if he is unable to find a way to return to F1 next year.

Sinault also added: “I think we did a good job together. I’m so happy about his level of performance, his pace, his commitment, I think he is quite happy about the job also.

“If he is not in F1, we are closer to continue to work together.”

Schumacher: Japan podium doesn’t change anything

Schumacher, Lapierre and Vaxiviere finished third in this month’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, securing the first podium finish for the Alpine A424.

The result also marked Schumacher’s first visit to the rostrum in any category since his title-winning campaign in Formula 2 in 2020, having never finished higher than sixth in his two years in F1.

But the 25-year-old says Alpine’s breakthrough result in Japan will not have any bearing on where he races in 2025.

«Right now we’re just happy with the podium,” he said. “Whatever happens for the future, will be decided at some point still this year, hopefully.

“As soon as I know what I will be doing, I will for sure put a press release out there and let you all know.

“But definitely the hope is for Formula 1, because that is what I dreamt of since I was a little boy. But it definitely feels great to be in WEC.»



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Alpine to continue to use Viry factory for WEC irrespective of F1 engine decision

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Alpine’s factory effort in the World Endurance Championship will not be affected by any potential changes to its Formula 1 engine programme.

Bruno Famin, vice president of motorsport at Alpine, has stated that the Renault brand will continue to build and maintain engines for its A424 LMDh car at Viry-Chatillon in France for the foreseeable future.

Renault’s Viry factory has been building engines for grand prix racing since 1979, but the French manufacturer is debating whether to abandon its F1 power unit programme in time for the new regulations in 2026.

Although a decision is not expected to be made until 30 September as per an internal target set by the company, the prospect of Renault stopping production of F1 engines at Viry to turn Alpine into a Mercedes customer team has not been received well by employees, who have staged multiple protests in recent weeks.

But «whatever happens» to its long-running F1 engine programme, the Viry facility will continue to play an important role in Alpine’s Hypercar team according to Famin.

«We are already using the facility for WEC engines. [In] 2025 we continue with the Formula 1 engine,» he said.

«We are using the facility, the people, the skills, the resources we have in Viry to support and develop the WEC programme for sure and we will continue [doing that in the future].»

The Alpine A424 is powered by a heavily modified version of Mecachrome’s 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 engine that is also used in Formula 2. This is paired with a spec hybrid system that is common to all LMDh cars and is supplied jointly by Bosch, Xtrac, Williams Advanced Engineering.

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

More testing in 2025

Alpine has completed limited testing on its return to the Hypercar class with the all-new A424 in 2024.

It was the only manufacturer in the category not to take part in a collective test at Austin in July ahead of this month’s Lone Star Le Mans event.

However, Famin has revealed that Alpine will ramp up testing in 2025 in order to use its entire allocation.

«The regulations limit the number of days you can test and the number of days depends if you are a manufacturer, but [also how many] customer [cars you have],» he explained.

«Some competitors have quite a lot of customer cars and they are allowed to make more tests. They also have double programmes with IMSA and WEC.

«We go step by step and the goal for next year will be for sure to make the full use of all the quota in terms of the number of test days that we are gonna have.»

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Gounon set for further WEC race outing with Alpine

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Jules Gounon is set to graduate from his role as Alpine’s official World Endurance Championship reserve to take a race seat at Bahrain in November for a second consecutive weekend.

The move is part of the same plan, put in place at the beginning of the season, that resulted in Gounon replacing Paul-Loup Chatin in the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh for last weekend’s Fuji round, Motorsport.com has learned.

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This time it calls for the Mercedes-AMG factory driver to take the place of Charles Milesi, Alpine’s star performer at this month’s Austin and Fuji WEC races, in the #35 Hypercar class entry run by the factory Signatech team. 

Alpine has so far yet to confirm Gounon’s role for the Bahrain 8 Hours on 2 November. 

The 29-year-old Frenchman, who subbed for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg in #35 at the Imola and Spa WEC rounds in April and May respectively, appears to be in contention for a race seat at the Signatech Alpine squad next year. 

Speculation to that effect was fuelled by his promotion to the race line-up at Fuji, which was devised to give him “the opportunity to continue his Hypercar learning process”, according to Alpine.

The Renault brand’s motorsport boss, Bruno Famin, wouldn’t confirm that changes in the Alpine WEC line-up are under consideration for 2025. He repeated the phrase “one thing after the other” when asked. 

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Jules Gounon

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Jules Gounon

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Gounon, whose father Jean-Marc finished second at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1997 driving a GTC McLaren F1 GTR, has never made any secret of his aspirations to compete at the highest level of sportscar racing. 

He described going for victory in the WEC and at the Le Mans 24 Hours as “my biggest goal and my biggest dream”.

But he said he preferred to talk about Fuji when questioned in Japan last weekend about a possible full-time future with Alpine. 

He confirmed that he remained under contract to Mercedes as part of its GT3 roster for one more year in 2025, but insisted that this would not necessarily prevent him for racing for Alpine in the full WEC alongside his commitments with the German manufacturer. 

“It could be a possibility,” he said. 

Gounon revealed on the announcement of his deal with Alpine in February that he had travelled to the home of Mercedes-AMG head of customer racing Stefan Wendl “to beg him to let me do this adventure with Alpine”. 

He also revealed at that time that there had been discussions about a full-time ride in the WEC with Alpine for 2024.

“Mercedes has been fantastic for me over the past three years and it wouldn’t have been fair to go against them,” he said.   

There is still uncertainty over Mick Schumacher’s place at Alpine for next year. 

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher

Photo by: Andreas Beil

The former Haas Formula 1 driver, who has dovetailed his role as Mercedes’s test and reserve with racing for Alpine in the WEC this year, has repeatedly refused to commit to remaining in the series in 2025. 

He is still insisting that a return to a full-time race seat in F1 remains his priority even though there are now only two berths vacant. 

“I am still looking at F1,” he said. “My plans for next year are pretty open: nothing is confirmed, nothing is done.”

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