WEC 2024: Alpine drivers enthusiastic about the Hypercar adventure

The Hypercar category is truly a great declaration of love for the modern automobile: in addition to the already committed six manufacturers, four other brands will join in 2024. BMW, Lamborghini, Isotta Fraschini, subject to confirmation, and, of course, Alpine.

The Dieppe brand had made a quick leap into the Hypercar category during the lean seasons of 2021 and 2022…but with a makeshift Oreca LMP1 to match the slower LMH cars, which were slower than their predecessors in the premier category. It must be said that at Le Mans in 2021, Laurent Rossi, the former CEO of Alpine, was still pondering the future of the brand in the WEC.

These are the memories that came back to Matthieu Vaxivière: the Limoges native, driver of car number 36 in LMP2, had been part of the Hypercar/LMP1 adventure with Alpine (two victories in key). “It’s true that at the time, we didn’t know yet what we were going to do in WEC with Alpine,” he says. “We had to give our all during this short program with the LMP1, and it seems to have paid off!”

Nicolas Lapierre, as renowned as he is experienced, was also part of the LMP1 program, alongside Vaxivière and André Negrao (who was not retained for the LMDh). Having spent three seasons with Toyota in P1, his contribution will be more than valuable.

« We really need to optimize everything to be ready for Qatar. We are all going to work together for that. This car is really amazing to drive, from what we have seen in tests. Plus, the relationships between us are excellent. Everything is looking good. »

The two other Frenchmen from the Dieppe squad are just coming off a season in LMP2 that didn’t live up to their ambitions. Paul-Loup Chatin, also very experienced, had the opportunity to make a big comparison between the two classes (not to say the two worlds). « It was really amazing: the aerodynamic grip is insane, there is a lot more onboard technology… I felt comfortable right from the start! »

Then Charles Milesi, the 22-year-old Burgundian, finally reached the top category, as if it were obvious. His top speed, one of the best in the LMP2 field, naturally earned him recognition from Alpine. « It’s a big step forward in my career. The main goal was to reach the pinnacle of endurance racing. This world is going to become a bit crazy because with all the manufacturers that are here, all the drivers will give their all. We will try to stay clean starting from Qatar. »

Two newcomers

Of course, one of the big attractions in Alpine’s announcements was the arrival of Mick Schumacher, who willingly left Formula 1 after two unsuccessful years with Haas.

He got a glimpse, in Jerez, of what endurance driving would entail. « It’s disorienting, he confirms. « Driving in a closed cockpit, not seeing the wheels… it brings a very different feeling from what I have experienced in F1 and even in single-seaters. Managing communication is one of the many things to handle. »

Finally, Ferdinand Habsburg: the Austrian stands out in a team composed of French speakers (including Mick Schumacher). But that hasn’t prevented them from getting along, and he finds it amusing! « I’m nice, I’ve already done races in WEC… so that helped for my CV! The conversation went really well right from the start: I had the opportunity to meet Philippe Sinault, we had a glass of wine together (in the French way), and the adventure began. »

The final word goes to Philippe Sinault, the manager of the French team, who is salivating at the thought of his triple trio of drivers. It is a great pride to bring together so many talented drivers within our ranks. We have focused on very experienced endurance drivers, some who have been with us before, as well as newcomers. The choice of these drivers is proof of the wonderful synergy between Alpine and us (Signatech). Furthermore, the addition of Mick Schumacher will be important, as he has been champion in F2 and F3. His mentality has definitively convinced us to integrate him into our ranks.