Sixty-three years after its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the M63, Alpine returned to the Sarthe for its 24th entry, the third consecutive with the A424.
To prepare for the most prestigious yet most daunting event on the calendar, Alpine Endurance Team was on track last Sunday for the Test Day, beginning to fine-tune its preparations ahead of free practice. The #35 Alpine A424 stood out in qualifying practice with the fastest time with Ferdinand Habsburg, then followed up with another best lap in Hyperpole 1 with Charles Milesi. António Félix da Costa then secured third place on the grid, matching the best performance by the A-arrow brand’s Hypercar in this category. Hindered by a rival before offering slipstream to the sister car, the #36 driven by Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Victor Martins missed out on Hyperpole 2 by just 0.131s.
Following a Friday marked by the drivers' parade through the city centre, the team carried out a final round of checks during Saturday’s warm-up ahead of the start of the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Alpine CEO Philippe Krief in attendance at 4.00 pm.
In the hottest conditions of the week, Ferdinand Habsburg and Frédéric Makowiecki avoided the dangers of the opening lap. On medium tyres, the Austrian rejoined the leading trio by overtaking the #15 BMW. On hard tyres, his French teammate showed strong pace as well, climbing into the top ten by lap eight. The stints continued with Charles Milesi and Victor Martins, whose strategy was adjusted following a wheel lock-up, before António Félix da Costa and Jules Gounon stepped into the fray.
As dusk fell, both crews entered the most critical phase of the race, struggling to maintain brake temperatures. Despite vibrations on the #36 car, which led to another early pit stop, and a faulty drink system on the #35, the drivers delivered a flawless performance. The first safety car period came shortly before midnight. Having closed the gap to the leaders thanks to the team’s quick thinking to avoid losing a lap, all six drivers doubled their efforts before the hopes of car #36 suffered another setback with the failure of a front anti-roll bar link.
The Alpine A424s remained in the mix until the early hours of the morning, but a second neutralisation with less than six hours to go relegated car #36 one lap behind the leaders. A puncture and a battery issue on the same car then led to a swift and controlled pit stop.
In the final hours, the crews pressed on despite a pace that fell short of the race leaders. Seventh at the restart, Ferdinand Habsburg in the #35 car held position before claiming sixth place at the expense of the #83 Ferrari. Meanwhile, the final efforts of Frédéric Makowiecki, Victor Martins and Jules Gounon secured tenth place for the sister car.
Alpine also made headlines with two demonstrations of the Alpenglow Hy6, including Thursday and Saturday’s runs, which set a top speed record for hydrogen technology on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans. Its driver, David Praschl, was clocked at 314.568 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight.
Following this eventful fortnight, Alpine Endurance Team now turns its attention to its next outing in the FIA World Endurance Championship: the 6 Hours of São Paulo (10–12 July), round four of the 2026 season.
QUOTES
Crew #35
António Félix da Costa
“We obviously hoped for a better result, but we soon realised it was going to be tough. We had to deal with a few minor issues throughout the race. The team did an excellent job of keeping us in the running for as long as possible. My teammates were also flawless. Nobody made a single mistake, and we delivered a perfect performance with what we had. Sixth is probably the best result we could have achieved today. Congratulations to Toyota on its victory. It’s been an emotional week, and now it's time to take a well-deserved rest before getting back to racing. There are still some great races to come this season, starting in Brazil.”
Charles Milesi
“We managed to optimise everything we could, taking care of the car or pushing when needed. We were missing a bit of pace to really fight for a top five or a podium. We were able to demonstrate the potential of our package in qualifying, but we knew there were still areas we needed to work on, and we didn’t have enough time to fully address them all. Of course, we would have liked a bit more, but overall it was still a strong week and the team did an excellent job. Now we will focus on the rest of the season, starting with São Paulo. We hope to continue building on the strong start to the year and to fight for strong results as we close out this chapter.”
Ferdinand Habsburg
“I am honoured to have been chosen to finish the race behind the wheel of the Alpine A424. I felt a whirlwind of emotions as the chequered flag was waved, with an immense sense of joy at everything we have achieved together. I’m extremely proud of our performance because we gave it our all from start to finish, without a single mistake, penalty, or incident. Despite the issues, the car held up well, and I felt it still had more to give with every stint. We showed some great things this weekend, and I think we can be very proud of the way we ran this race.”
Crew #36
Frédéric Makowiecki
“It was a tough race, as we’ve experienced before. We showed promising performance at times, but in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you have to be strong throughout and avoid trouble. We were a bit off the pace of the leaders. That said, I’m really proud of the team. I think we’ve made real strides compared to previous years, even though we know that the final hurdle is always the hardest to clear.”
Jules Gounon
“I’m a bit disappointed with our result, because, honestly, I feel we didn’t make any mistakes. We drove a clean race, with no penalties or incidents, and yet we finished only tenth – just like last year, despite a much more messy performance on our part. We were obviously hoping for better, but that’s how it is sometimes. I would like to thank the entire team for their incredible work, particularly everyone working on car #36 and Philippe Sinault.”
Victor Martins
“It was among the most incredible experiences of my career. I’m relieved to have completed my first 24 Hours of Le Mans with Alpine. I wanted to experience this race with the entire team, and they did a remarkable job of staying focused and motivated and of supporting us in the car. It’s tough for us out on the track, but it’s even tougher for them. We never gave up and kept pushing right to the end. I enjoyed it immensely, whether it was day or night, at sunrise or sunset. A huge thank you to every member of the team. The car was fast, but a few issues compromised our chances of fighting for a top-five finish.”
Management
Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team
“Beyond the result, what stands out most for me is the quality of the entire team’s performance throughout the week. The engineers, mechanics and drivers put in a solid performance, and the outcome is positive with two cars finishing in the top ten. We’ve shown further improvement over last year, particularly in top speed. Some of our rivals were stronger than us, and we weren’t able to compete with them for the entirety of the race. Despite that, I’m pleased with the work done by the operational team, and we can build on this for the rest of the season.”
Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
“It was a tough race, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans always is. We thought our package would put us among the frontrunners more consistently. We managed to do so at times, but not consistently. That said, our crews put in a remarkable performance, without a single mistake. The same goes for the mechanics, who were flawless. We received neither a warning nor a penalty, which is also worth noting. At certain points, we simply didn’t have the pace our drivers needed to keep fighting for higher positions. This shows there is still work to do, but this sixth-place finish rewards a great deal of effort from every team member. This is the Alpine A424’s best result at Le Mans, with another double top-ten finish. Our focus now turns to our upcoming races, starting with the 6 Hours of São Paulo.”
Axel Plasse, VP Alpine Tech
“Given the quality of the team’s performance - and I mean the entire organisation, from the development groups to the operational crews – everyone did an excellent job. The car was driven and operated well, but it simply lacked a bit of pace. I’m satisfied and proud of their performance, which deserved to be rewarded with a better result, but that’s racing, especially at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We’ll now focus on the end of the FIA World Endurance Championship season. We’ve still got some great races ahead of us, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Yann Paranthoën, Chief Engineer Alpine Endurance Team
“We experienced a particularly intense edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with many situations to manage in order to bring both cars to the finish. The overriding feeling is a mix of satisfaction and frustration. We are pleased to have both cars in the top ten, but there is also frustration as our ambitions were higher. We clearly lacked pace compared to some of our competitors throughout the race. Still, we are satisfied to have demonstrated the performance potential of the Alpine A424 in its 2026 specification. We showed that in qualifying, and while there is still work to do in terms of race pace, this result represents a significant step forward compared to 2025. I would also like to thank everyone involved in this project. The mechanics, as well as the engineers both trackside and back at Viry-Châtillon, all played a vital role in this result.”
CLASSIFICATIONS
24 Hours of Le Mans 2026
- Toyota Racing #7
- Alpine Endurance Team #35
- Alpine Endurance Team #36
Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship
- Conway / De Vries / Kobayashi – 75 points
- Da Costa / Habsburg / Milesi – 28 points
- Gounon / Makowiecki / Martins – 4 points
FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers Championship
- Toyota – 132 points
- Alpine – 38 points
