After an encouraging first campaign, Alpine Endurance Team will move on to the second in 2025, with an A424 LMDh which showed all its qualities in the second part of last season.
To take the A-badged prototype, the French brand will rely on a mix of known drivers and a major novelty: the arrival of Frédéric Makowiecki. The ex-Porsche driver thus joins Alpine, and will bring his immense experience and his burst of speed to the Dieppe manufacturer.
« It’s something special to be able to represent a French manufacturer entered in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the possibility of aiming for overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, especially as Alpine has an extremely rich history in the sport. automobile, emphasizes “Hands. I really liked the speech and the evolution of the team. Alpine was able to progress and shine from its first season against tough competition. I arrive with a lot of humility, but I hope to bring a lot to the team. Doing everything better than everyone else will be crucial to take the final steps, and I can’t wait to be in Qatar! »
The Frenchman will notably find Jules Gounon, established for the year after having competed in four races in 2024 in addition to his position as reservist. A great reward for the Ardéchois, who has won almost everything in GT3 with Mercedes-AMG. “ I was able to compete in four races, but I’m really happy to be able to become a starter thanks to the confidence that Alpine has placed in me, Jean-Marc Gounon’s son agrees with this. It’s a close-knit team, collaboration is close between each of us and the understanding is excellent between all the drivers, which allows the whole team to work well and move forward together. »
Two full-time additions which are in line with the project according to Philippe Sinault, Team Principal of Alpine Endurance Team. “Jules continued his integration through his role as a reserve pilot and he was able to meet our expectations, so we were keen to promote him within our ranks, confirms the Frenchman. Finally, the arrival of Frédéric Makowiecki is a real plus. His presence will allow us to benefit from all his experience, but also from his sporting and technical legitimacy. His state of mind and his character correspond to our project. He is a personality that makes you want to work with him and his contribution will help us progress towards our common goal. »
Schumacher reappointed, just like Chatin, Milesi and Habsburg
Paul-Loup Chatin, Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will continue the adventure after having been part of the early days of the program. After a first campaign in 2024, Mick Schumacher has largely proven himself in Endurance, and will extend his adventure with Alpine, the doors of F1 seeming to have closed for the moment for the German driver, including the end of collaboration with Mercedes-AMG F1 Team was also confirmed this Thursday “ We had a great first year together and I am determined to make the program perform even better in this second season. insists Schumacher. We have defined points on which we want to push, so I am really looking forward to starting my second campaign in Endurance. »
In addition to the end of the career of Nicolas Lapierre, who has now moved to the position of sporting director, it is Matthieu Vaxiviere who will not be in the seat in 2025. Alpine Endurance Team will confirm the distribution of its crews in a second step.
“By renewing five pilots, we are choosing stability to work in the continuity of our learning campaign, analyzes Nicolas Lapierre. We are happy to be able to count on Charles, Ferdinand, Jules, Mick and Paul-Loup again. We also welcome Frédéric Makowiecki, a fine expert in Endurance, with extremely solid technical background. His profile and his contributions correspond exactly to what we need at this stage of the project. We are therefore delighted to see such an asset join our ranks. »
“We have selected talents who are not only fast, but also equipped with analytical skills and an exemplary state of mind, explains Bruno Famin, Alpine Motorsports director. We know Charles Milesi, Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mick Schumacher well, whose support for the project is total. Our reservist Jules Gounon will take the final step by becoming a starter after having been able to prepare for it over the past year. As for Frédéric Makowiecki, his experience, his feedback and his racing intelligence will be assets to consolidate our progress. Everyone brings unique potential in the service of a single ambition: to make the team and the A424 progress as much as possible. We have built a strong and united group to build on the foundations of our first campaign and the commitment of our drivers, coupled with their talent, will allow us to meet the challenges that await us in this 2025 season.”
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