Alpine aims to raise its game in second Le Mans for A424

After claiming two podium finishes in the past two WEC races at Imola and Spa with the No. 36 A424, Alpine has arrived in Le Mans for its home race riding a wave of positive momentum. But the memories from last year’s disastrous double retirement with the A424 on its first crack at "the big one" still linger as the team closes in on its second attempt at glory.

Much has changed on the car over the last 12 months. “Everything we’ve done on the damping, mechanical side, software side, makes it feel like such a different car,” No. 35 driver Ferdinand Habsburg tells RACER. And the mood music in the garage has improved as a result.

This time last year, there was an underlying sense of anxiety within the camp as it edged closer to putting its A424 to the test in its first 24-hour race. As it turned out, those fears were justified, as engine trouble forced both cars out of the race early.

Now, after an all-hands-on-deck approach to improving the car throughout the second half of the 2024 season and the winter break, confidence levels are undoubtedly higher this month. Still, nobody at Alpine is getting carried away.

“I would be much more comfortable asking that question (about reliability) at the end of the race. At Le Mans, anything can happen,” Habsburg admits when asked about the Alpine team’s effort to adopt an engine management strategy in the second half of 2024, before introducing a Joker upgrade for 2025 and making moves to bring the engine program in-house.

“Everything we’ve felt we needed to improve on, we have, and everything reliability-wise we needed to change, we’ve changed. The problem is, this race is so hard on the cars that we don’t really know what to expect. All we know is we have given everything.

“The work we’ve done is a sign that Alpine is not here for the short term, it’s here for the long term.”

As a result, the team's main priority is to finish with both cars. Anyone expecting Les Bleus to spring a surprise and snatch the first overall win for an LMDh prototype at Le Mans, may need to recalibrate their expectations.

“We are so proud of the job done by everyone to achieve the level we are at,” Alpine Endurance Team boss Philippe Sinault tells RACER. “But it’s difficult to say how confident we are, because we were a little bit hurt last year, and it stays in the mind, it will be for my whole life. We have to reset.

“We are not the favorite; we are here to finish the race first and then achieve the best finish possible.”

Hapsburg feels the Alpine's adaptability to the Michelin compounds could be an advantage. Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Through the test day and opening practice sessions, Alpine hasn't been lighting up the timing screens, though both cars made it through for the Hyperpole session later today.

“I think we need to figure out a bit of downforce, to be honest," Habsburg admits. "I think we need to focus on our corners, because in the end, the top speed is the same for everyone, just because of the dual band. So we have to make another step in the corners just to be able to battle with everyone. Being able to tackle the bumps and the curbs and everything is vital."

More Le Mans/WEC

McLaren names its forthcoming Hypercar the MCL-HY

With Alpine’s impending Hypercar exit, what’s next for Signatech?

Garage 59 stars while WRT shows championship potential on WEC opening weekend

Going all out in qualifying to secure strong track position for the start of the race isn’t quite as important here compared to the shorter races on the calendar. So Alpine, like most teams in Hypercar, has spent the bulk of its time working on long-run pace and experimenting with the three Michelin tire compounds available.

“With 21 Hypercars, it’s rough out there,” Habsburg says. “It’s gloves off and you need to get the elbows out. But we have to be cool and relaxed.

“So on long runs, we’ve been running on the soft and mediums and the medium has a wide operating window. The soft and hard are for extremities. We may see the hard come in if it gets hotter and we’ve used the softs for cooler temperatures. Some cars struggle to get the medium in the window, but we seem to always be quite good at it.”

If all goes to plan and the two A424s make it through to Sunday afternoon, it would be an emotionally charged occasion for all involved and a dose of vindication for everyone who believes in the project’s long-term prospects.

“If we could finish and get a P6 or even a P5, it would be something special. Really.” Sinault says.