On Friday, the team began fine-tuning the set-up of its Hypercars, focusing on balance, braking stability and the various tyre compounds supplied by Michelin. Having set the fastest time in the final practice session, Les Bleus highlighted the progress made on their package by reaching for the first time an Hyperpole session held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. On his WEC qualifying debut, Victor Martins equalled the Alpine A424’s best result by finishing third, just 0.067s off pole position. His teammate Charles Milesi finished fifth, 0.060s further back.
On Sunday, Frédéric Makowiecki (#36) and Ferdinand Habsburg (#35) took the start on a track still affected by overnight showers. Starting from the wetter side of the grid, the Frenchman slipped to fourth place while the Austrian ended up losing six places at the start. Ferdinand Habsburg’s strategy was quickly adjusted to clear the traffic and make the most of clean air. Meanwhile, Frédéric Makowiecki prioritised his track position before the increased wear on his medium tyres led the team to bring him in early after his second stint. Struggles continued as Frédéric Makowiecki got a five-second penalty to be applied on the next pit-stop.
The two A424s became embroiled in a tactical battle. On new tyres, António Félix da Costa and Victor Martins fluctuated between the front-runners and the pack depending on their pit stops. Unfortunately, the #36 car’s efforts were hampered by a front-left puncture after the application of the five-second penalty from the previous stint.. Meanwhile, António Félix da Costa kept the #35 car in the lead before handing over to Charles Milesi. Shortly afterwards, Jules Gounon got behind the wheel of the sister car.
Conditions changed in the final third of the race as the wind picked up, temperatures dropped, and the sky above Interlagos grew increasingly ominous. Consistently among the fastest on track, Charles Milesi and Jules Gounon continued their push, waiting for a scenario that might shake things up and allow them to realign their strategy. In the meantime under one hour to the finish, #35 car was leading while we watched a short battle won by Charles Milesi with eventual winner #15 car. Despite a light drizzle, the late stages of the race were particularly frustrating. With 40 minutes remaining, a rear right tyre puncture forced the #35 car to make its final pit stop earlier than planned, costing still some places and points, whilst the #36 car had to save its energy to avoid a quick splash-and-dash and stay on the lead lap.
The two crews finished tenth and eleventh, a result that did little to reflect the potential they demonstrated throughout the weekend. Nevertheless, Alpine Endurance Team leaves Brazil with three more points and confirmation of the A424’s progress heading into the second half of the season. Lone Star Le Mans, the next round, is set for 4–6 September at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (United States).
QUOTES
Crew #35
António Félix da Costa
“It’s disappointing given our potential, as we had the pace to fight for a podium finish. After a difficult start, we decided to take a different strategic approach, a gamble that could have paid off as we were virtually fighting for the win at some point. We just needed a little bit of luck to see it through, but the puncture ultimately ended our chances and we had to settle for tenth place. There are still plenty of positives to take from the weekend. Our ability to react as a team and make strategic decisions is encouraging. We will take those learnings forward and now turn our focus to Austin.”
Charles Milesi
“It was a difficult race. We decided to take a gamble with our strategy, but luck wasn’t on our side with that puncture at the end. We also experienced some issues with the brakes. At certain points, we showed the potential to fight for strong results, but we were still lacking the consistency required to regularly challenge at the front. We’ll keep working hard, continue to fight and see what the rest of the season brings us.”
Ferdinand Habsburg
“The positive takeaway from this weekend is that we had the pace to compete at the front throughout the race. Our performance over the stints was actually a pleasant surprise compared to last year, and it’s great to see the progress we’ve made. I’m disappointed with my start, as I made a few too many mistakes, but once I got into clean air, I was able to extract the most from the car. The team did an excellent job supporting me throughout the race, and that was reflected in our pace. It’s a shame our final hopes were ended by the puncture, as we would have liked to see our strategy play out until the chequered flag. Nevertheless, we leave with some points and plenty of positives from a very encouraging weekend.”
Crew #36
Frédéric Makowiecki
“Overall, it was a tough race. I think we had a good car, and the beginning of the race went well. I made a small mistake during my first pit stop by stopping slightly too far to the left, which compromised the sequence that followed. The decision not to change tyres also put us in a difficult situation later on. Despite that, I think we showed a strong level of performance, but racing is not only about performance, it is also about operation.”
Jules Gounon
“It was a difficult race for us and unfortunately, we finished just outside the top ten. We had a strong pace, but an issue with the car during the race set us back before the puncture added to our difficulties. It’s inevitably disappointing given our potential and first stint, but that’s racing. We’ll now analyse everything to come back stronger and bounce back in Austin.”
Victor Martins
“It was a very difficult race, but we had an encouraging start.. We had the pace to stay with the leaders and were in the fight for the podium. The puncture cost us valuable time, and we had to offset our strategy. We then had an issue with the car, which made the rest of the race particularly challenging. Under these circumstances, I think we made the most of the situation and maximised everything we had.”
Management
Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team
“Today’s result is disappointing. We failed to fulfil our potential, even though the pace shown by the A424 was strong enough to aim for a much better ending. The two punctures, one on each car, also didn’t help our strategies and prevented us from fighting to the very end. It’s frustrating, as we had the pace to do much better. We need to take the positives from this weekend, particularly the car’s overall performance and the progress made on a track where we struggled last year and keep moving forward so we can bounce back in Austin.”
Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
“It wasn’t an easy day, even though we had shown a strong pace right from the start. The #36 car suffered from tyre degradation as early as the second stint. We decided to adjust our strategy by bringing the car in early to recover performance. This paid off with some very competitive lap times. Unfortunately, Victor’s puncture ended our hopes of a good result. As for car #35, the start of the race was more difficult, particularly due to traffic. We then took a strategic risk and it allowed us to get back into the fight at the front, but a puncture in the final hour also scuppered the crew’s ambitions even before a potential splash-and-dash. We’re disappointed to be leaving Brazil with this result, as the A424’s potential was clearly there, and the final positions don’t reflect our true level. We now need to analyse all the factors so that we can continue to improve in every area. We’ve shown that we’re in the mix and we’ll keep working hard to come back stronger in Austin.”
CLASSIFICATIONS
6 Hours of São Paulo
- BMW M Team WRT #15
- Alpine Endurance Team #35
- Alpine Endurance Team #36
Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship
- Rast / Frijns – 75 points
- Da Costa / Habsburg / Milesi – 29 points
- Gounon / Makowiecki / Martins – 4 points
FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturer’s Championship
- Toyota – 132 points
- Alpine – 41 points
