Alpine believes top-five was possible at Le Mans without errors
It was a tough race for Alpine on its second appearance at Le Mans with the A424.
Alpine believes it could have finished inside the top five at last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans had it not made several “small mistakes” or run into “issues”.
The French manufacturer came away with the best finish of 10th in the French endurance classic, with Paul Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi bagging the final championship point in the No. 35 A424 LMDh, two laps down on the winning Ferrari.
The sister car piloted by Mick Schumacher, Jules Gounon and Fred Makowiecki finished another lap behind in 11th after winning a late battle with the No. 12 Peugeot 9X8 of Mikkel Jensen, Stoffel Vandoorne and Malthe Jakobsen.
It was a massive improvement from a fraught debut outing for Alpine in 2024, when both its LMDh cars retired in the first six hours due to engine issues. However, it was also a far cry from the podiums it achieved at the previous two rounds of the World Endurance Championship at Imola and Spa.
The No. 35 Alpine’s race was compromised when Chatin was handed a drive-through penalty for colliding with the No. 94 Peugeot in the seventh hour.
Meanwhile, the No. 36 A424 was beached in the gravel on Sunday morning when Gounon made a mistake heading into Mulsanne. The car had also lost further time when former Formula 1 driver Schumacher was held up at pit exit due to a red light and a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault admitted to disappointment with the team’s performance at Le Mans, but took consolation from the fact that both cars ran reliably for all 24 hours.
"The results are mixed,” he described. “We are really pleased that both cars finished and have managed reliability issues well, despite an alert handled perfectly by the team at the beginning of the race. Getting both A424s through 24 hours is no mean feat; it's a milestone.
“However, there is also disappointment. Given our level of performance at the end of the race, we could have aimed for a top-five finish without the small mistakes we did and issues we encountered. In this new era, every detail matters, as the gaps are so small.
“Nevertheless, this frustration is healthy. It motivates us to come back stronger. All the information we gathered was essential and will help us improve and continue to build something strong.
“Our next race is in Brazil, in a very different context. Before that, we need to digest and analyse the data with a clear head to move forward.
“We know that we are not yet in a position to compete for victory at Le Mans. That's a fact, so it's up to us to work hard to get there."
Schumacher was one of the star performers from the Alpine contingent and made the late-race pass that allowed the Renault brand to beat its homegrown rival Peugeot to 11th place.
Summing up the race, he said: "The main goal was to finish the race, and we did it. We're racing with a lot of ambition, so I'm not entirely satisfied with our final position. I always strive to do my best to help the team as much as possible.
“They did an excellent job considering the difficulties and problems we encountered. I'm glad to be able to take a break before turning my attention to São Paulo, one of my favourite tracks, ready to move on!"
