WEC: The Alpine A424 definitively dressed in its colors
Alpine has jointly presented the A524, which will be driven by Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in F1, but also the A424, its counterpart in the WEC. A very beautiful car, skilled drivers, and a livery worthy of the brand: everything is combined for success.
At Alpine, we have chosen to kill two birds with one stone: the A524 F1 was unveiled on Wednesday afternoon, in a very striking livery combining BWT pink, blue, and a dominant carbon black.
On the WEC side, the A424 had already showcased its design during the centenary of Le Mans in its final livery. The Hypercar regulations, which are much more permissive in terms of aesthetics than Formula 1, have allowed Enstone’s team to create a car based on an Oreca chassis with the most extreme lines ever seen on a car from the brand (except for single-seaters, of course).
The livery of the French LMDh bears a resemblance to that of the LMP1 adventure (during the transition to the Hypercar category), but with slightly lighter tones, and of course, the French flag displayed on the rear end.
Philippe Sinault, the team principal of the Signatech team, managing the Alpine program, is inevitably one of the most enthusiastic. With the necessary moderation, in what remains a year of discovery.
We need to be humble, but ambitious for this project. We have experienced significant changes and a huge step forward as a team. Unveiling our Hypercar for the 2024 season alongside our drivers is truly a privileged moment (…). It is difficult to say if we will be competing for victory this year, but we will quickly become hungry for good results (…)
Restructured and reliable crew
Alpine will field two A424 cars for the 2024 WEC season, which is shaping up to be possibly even more magnificent than the previous one. Even though Toyota had a smooth sailing throughout the season, except at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the number of manufacturers is unparalleled in the history of the premier category.
Necessarily, facing such majestic and exciting competition, one must be equipped: the LMH category will be represented by Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, and Isotta Fraschini, while the LMDh category will include Porsche, Cadillac, as well as the newcomers Lamborghini, BMW, and Alpine.
The No. 35 will be a new home for Charles Milesi, who drove the No. 36 in LMP2 last year. He will be teamed up with Paul-Loup Chatin, winner of Daytona in 2021, and Ferdinand Habsburg, the only non-French-speaking driver in the WEC program.
On N°36, there will be plenty of experience: Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxivière will return to the top category, but this time with a real Hypercar. They will be joined by a certain Mick Schumacher, who will bring his short Formula 1 experience to the Normandy brand.
The WEC Prologue will take place on the 24th and 25th of February, ahead of the season’s big start in early March, for the 1,812 km race in Qatar.
