Last year at Imola, Alpine Endurance Team produced a strong performance to deservedly secure its first podium finish of the FIA World Endurance Championship campaign. Twelve months on, the French manufacturer is setting its sights on a similar result if not better.
Third place around the iconic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari was one of three rostrum results achieved by the Alpine A424 in 2025 – including a famous victory in FIA WEC’s milestone 100th race at Fuji in Japan. As the brand prepares to embark upon its valedictory season at the pinnacle of the long-distance discipline in 2026, it has been leaving no stone unturned.
After notching up 1,250 trouble-free kilometres around Portimão’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal back in January, Alpine Endurance Team has collected further essential data at MotorLand Aragón in Spain, enabling its drivers and engineers to continue honing the race-winning Hypercar across a wide range of conditions.
The programme focused upon aerodynamics, set-up optimisation, reliability and tyre understanding, with the feedback generated providing encouraging insights and clear development directions as Alpine approaches the start of its final campaign with the A424.
“The test at MotorLand Aragón was an important step in our preparation, building upon the work completed at Le Castellet and Portimão,” affirmed Team Principal, Philippe Sinault. “Running the car in its 2026 configuration over a 24-hour endurance format allowed us to complete an intensive programme with both crews together for the first time, benefitting from representative top speeds and varied track conditions.
“The outcome is positive, with over 3,000 kilometres covered and all six drivers contributing to valuable correlation work with our simulations. While the postponement of the Qatar round is unfortunate, it has given us additional time to prepare for the season start. We remain fully mobilised, with further simulator work and another test planned at Spa-Francorchamps in early April as we continue to refine our package.”
The #35 A424 will be crewed by Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg – stalwarts of the squad since the beginning of Alpine’s Hypercar journey and instrumental in the A424’s maiden triumph last September – alongside FIA WEC returnee and former Formula E champion, António Félix da Costa. In the sister #36 entry, incumbent duo Jules Gounon and Frédéric Makowiecki form an all-French line-up with endurance racing newcomer, Victor Martins.
“I’m very pleased with how quickly our two new drivers have integrated into the team,” acknowledged Sporting Director, Nicolas Lapierre. “Victor adapted extremely well from the outset, while António already plays a key role within the group. The six-driver line-up is working very well together, with a strong team spirit building both on and off-track.
“I’m also very satisfied with the progress we have made with our 2026 developments. Of course, the postponement of the Qatar round is disappointing, but we are looking forward to starting the season at Imola where we finished on the podium in 2025, which gives us confidence heading into the opening race.”
Following the six-hour curtain-raising contest in Italy on 19 April, the hunt for honours will continue with outings at Spa-Francorchamps (9 May), Le Mans (13-14 June), Interlagos (12 July), COTA (6 September) and Fuji (27 September), prior to concluding with the rescheduled Qatar 1812km on 24 October and the traditional season finale in Bahrain on 7 November.
