Alpine Endurance Team has hailed an ‘aggressive’ approach in the 6 Hours of Imola earlier this month, as the French outfit celebrated an unexpected rostrum finish in the second outing of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign.
Following a disappointing Qatari curtain-raiser that had yielded just 13th and 14th places for its two A424 prototypes despite showing early promise, Alpine travelled to the iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari seeking to kickstart its challenge in the series’ headlining Hypercar category.
After advancing to the top ten Hyperpole shootout in qualifying, Mick Schumacher and Charles Milesi duly put the #36 and #35 entries sixth and eighth on the grid respectively in the high-calibre, 18-strong field.
Frédéric Makowiecki began the race behind the wheel of the #36 car, with stablemate Jules Gounon moving up to fifth during his double-stint thanks to a well-timed pit visit and using soft tyres to gain track position.
A bold strategy and a clean run then enabled Schumacher to overhaul a number of rivals when they made their final refuelling stops in the closing stages, elevating the German to third with just eight minutes to go. He would maintain that position to the chequered flag to secure the A424’s second podium in FIA WEC competition.
“It was a great race,” Schumacher acknowledged, “and I was really happy with the result. Our strategy was key, with a little help from a few incidents out front. We managed to pull off something that we didn’t believe possible at the start, and we can be proud of our progress so far. Let’s keep working hard to build on this momentum.”
“I’m pleased with how we have worked to find more performance,” echoed Makowiecki, who has joined Alpine this season following a decade spent competing in Porsche machinery. “We needed a strong race to validate the work we have done.
“We had a few tricky moments, but we were there when it mattered, with a better strategy than everyone else at the end. However, we must keep working hard, especially on the operational side. We made the right decisions at the right time in the final hours at Imola; we now need to do that throughout an entire race.
In the sister car, Ferdinand Habsburg found himself penalised for an infringement at a Full Course Yellow re-start and subsequently had to drive through a gravel trap to avoid a collision. An enforced rear bodywork change later on necessitated a prolonged pit-stop for Paul-Loup Chatin, further delaying the #35 entry, which would ultimately finish an unlucky 13th.
“It was a disappointing result for our crew, but our pace was as strong as our team-mates,” commented Habsburg. “Unfortunately, we made a few mistakes, and with the gaps so small, that can make all the difference. We need to focus on the positives and the fact that our package keeps improving. We still have a lot of work to do, and we need to use the [#36 crew’s] result and our team spirit to make further strides forward.”
Les Bleus will head to Belgium for next weekend’s TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (8-10 May) occupying fourth spot in the Manufacturers’ standings, and aiming to add to its points tally in the Ardennes.
“Imola showed that the slightest mistake can be costly in a pure sprint, especially at a circuit where overtaking is difficult and track position so important,” summarised Team Principal, Philippe Sinault. “The first few hours didn’t go quite as we wanted, but we got back into contention by using soft tyres on an increasingly cool track.
“Towards the end, we opted for different strategies to cover all scenarios. We were aggressive with car #36, favouring two short stints rather than a long one followed by a very short one. Everything fell into place, allowing us to push without compromising our tyres. We were determined to demonstrate our progress in understanding the car, and it was a great team effort that rewarded everybody’s work. We can enjoy this result, but we must also learn certain lessons to make even more progress in the long-term.”
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