Alpine commits to LMP1 from 2021
Sporting Offensive for Alpine: After its arrival in F1, Alpine has just announced a second sporting endeavor for next year. It involves the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the premier category, LMP1.
Following his takeover at Renault, Luca di Meo decided to restructure the group around four brands, with Alpine as the standard-bearer for sportiness. The first step was the recent announcement of its entry into F1, replacing the current team known as Renault F1 Team.
For the endurance program, it is a matter of category since Alpine has been present in LMP2 since 2015 by placing its colors on the prototype developed by Oreca and operated by the Signatech team. The three partners will remain associated next season as it will now involve operating one of the Oreca LMP1 chassis currently used by Rebellion.
To do this, the Tricolores have obtained permission from the ACO to enter a current prototype against the new Hypercar developed by Toyota, as well as by ByKolles and Glickenhaus. To ensure fair competition, a balance of performance will be implemented.
If Alpine’s involvement is primarily marketing, it does not prevent its CEO, Patrick Marinoff, from stating: “The latest regulatory developments for 2021 provide Alpine with the opportunity to demonstrate its technical expertise and racing experience in a fair and competitive environment, all thanks to a measured investment made possible by cost control.”
The strategy is clever because, for its debut, Alpine will be able to rely on a package made reliable by several years of operation, while Toyota will inevitably have to deal with unforeseen issues related to the introduction of an entirely new platform for its hypercar. This will give the French team a very serious chance of claiming the final victory.
For the years to come, the battle between manufacturers is expected to make a big comeback since Peugeot has already announced and confirmed its return to the top category, though it hasn’t revealed which regulations it will use (hypercar, LMDh, or LMP1).
At present, Alpine has not revealed much else about its program, particularly the identity of its drivers. Some already see in this announcement the prospect of seeing Fernando Alonso in Le Mans, even though he has committed to returning to F1 with Alpine next season. However, during the Indianapolis 500, Cyril Abiteboul had stated that he did not want any “distractions” for his star driver…
