Alpine has confirmed it will become a Mercedes customer from the new power unit regulations in 2026, following the closure of its own Formula 1 engine department. The French constructor announced earlier this year that it would be redistributing …
Alpine has confirmed it will become a Mercedes customer from the new power unit regulations in 2026, following the closure of its own Formula 1 engine department.
The French constructor announced earlier this year that it would be redistributing resources and personnel at its Viry-Chatillon factory, and will no longer be producing a power unit for the new F1 technical regulations starting in 2026. As a result of that, Alpine will become a customer team, using Mercedes power units and gearboxes when the current era comes to an end.
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“BWT Alpine Formula One Team, Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, and Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix have entered into Power Unit and Gearbox Agreements from the start of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship,” an Alpine statement read.
‘Team Enstone’ last ran with Mercedes engines in 2015 when it was in its Lotus guise. Steven Tee/Motorsport Images
“The multi-year agreement will see Mercedes-Benz supply BWT Alpine Formula One Team with power units for the duration of the new regulation era, from 2026 until at least 2030. Alongside the power unit, BWT Alpine Formula One Team will also be supplied with Mercedes gearboxes from the 2026 season.
“The team remains focused on performing in the strongest way possible in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.”
The decision to close the Alpine power unit department resulted in protests from some employees, including at this year’s Italian Grand Prix, with it marking the first time the Renault Group won’t have produced engines used in F1 since 1989.
Mercedes currently supplies constructors’ championship leader McLaren, as well as Williams and Aston Martin, although it will have the capacity to add a new customer in 2026 when Aston Martin switches to Honda.
Esteban Ocon says he is finding it hard to believe that Alpine’s double podium in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is reality. Alpine entered Sunday’s race in ninth place in the constructors’ championship on 16 points, one point behind Williams in the …
Esteban Ocon says he is finding it hard to believe that Alpine’s double podium in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is reality.
Alpine entered Sunday’s race in ninth place in the constructors’ championship on 16 points, one point behind Williams in the standings. In wet conditions, both Ocon and Pierre Gasly excelled as the team also pulled off a brave strategy — running long and benefiting from a red flag — to finish second and third behind Max Verstappen and move up to sixth overall with a 33-point haul.
“I’m not sure that this is a reality or still a dream, but I smell champagne, so I think it is reality,” Ocon said. “It’s been an incredible day. Who would have thought, first of all, that we were going to qualify fourth? We were very, very quick as soon as these conditions poured out today.
“It really levels out the field and it feels great to be just able to fight with other cars, to fight with the guys at the front as well. It shows that we still got it and when there is an opportunity, we are always there to be able to take it.
“We were leading the race at some point. That was a special moment — I was pulling away from Max in that first restart. It was going super well and unfortunately, at the end, the reality check came back and Max was still better than us.
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“It feels extremely great and even greater now because we’ve had a difficult couple of races lately where things didn’t really work the way we wanted for us, but it clearly shows that we’ve still got it when it’s not all about the car and it’s … about driving.”
The result is Ocon’s fifth score of the season, and his previous best finish was a solitary ninth place ahead of three tenths. The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of the season and he says the fact he could celebrate with teammate Gasly — who has been a rival since their junior careers — made it extra special.
“It’s not signed off yet; there’s more races to go, three more,” he said. “If that’s the reward, then I’m very happy to call it … the reward. It’s been five years of good moments, more difficult moments of course, but I’m extremely happy and proud of me and Pierre, to be honest. We’ve had our [struggles] at times but it’s been incredible to do that last formation lap.
“A lot of flashbacks came back to my memories when we were racing on the wet in karts when we were young, even on the snow with the slick tires. We were both racing together waiting for the podium or the win to come and today, it tastes a bit like that. A beautiful story from where we’ve come from and that one will stay forever.”
Otmar Szafnauer says he was going to turn Alpine into a top three team before his dismissal as team principal, and that the team’s current situation is a “disaster.” Alpine announced the departures of Szafnauer and long-time sporting director Alan …
Otmar Szafnauer says he was going to turn Alpine into a top three team before his dismissal as team principal, and that the team’s current situation is a “disaster.”
Alpine announced the departures of Szafnauer and long-time sporting director Alan Permane during the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix weekend, with Szafnauer leaving after just under 18 months at the team. Speaking to the High Performance podcast, he says he had been aware of the challenges he would face once he arrived and found the entire team didn’t report to him, but that he’d remained committed as he thought he could turn the situation around.
“I couldn’t have predicted the future,” Szafnauer said. “I had a contract, I wanted to do the best I can for my team, I’m still working hard, I’m still delivering relative to today. Yeah, we were sixth in that championship, but we had a couple of podiums, we were scoring points regularly, it wasn’t a disaster – we were in the midfield.
“It’s not like today. I don’t know where they are today, ninth or something in the championship? Today it’s a disaster. It’s a half step back, but sometimes you take a half step back to take two steps forward. The recruitment was happening, good people were coming, I was going to turn that team into a top-three team which is what we wanted to do.
“I was working with the FIA at the time to work with the power unit equalization. We were 25 horsepower down on power when the engine freeze happened, [and] there’s a gentleman’s agreement amongst the engine manufacturers that said if somebody is way down on power we’ll allow them to come back up.
“My last meeting, which was a Formula 1 Commission meeting in Belgium … I put a strong case forward for allowing Alpine powertrain to come back up to equal the others. The other three were within a kilowatt of each other. We’re 15 kilowatts down, 25 horsepower down, it’s hard to compete. So I was working on all those fronts to get Alpine better, and I did it to my last day.”
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Szafnauer – who claims he was also made a scapegoat in the Oscar Piastri contract saga for errors made before his arrival – says his exit coincided with that of a number of key Alpine personnel that has contributed to the decline in performance.
“[I had] Formula 1 Commission meeting in the morning, and I think the announcement happened at the lunchtime that weekend that both Alan Permane and I were leaving.
“I knew about a week before … just in a phone call from head of HR, a Zoom call. The head of Renault Group HR.
“I’ve never explored those reasons. There were suggestions that I needed to change the corporate culture in a way that I didn’t think was the right way to do it. I know how to change corporate culture into a culture that has a winning mentality, psychological safety, everything that I’ve talked about that I was on my way to doing.
“They wanted a corporate culture change in a different manner, to get rid of some people that were doing a good job that had been there for a long time, and my thought was if you get rid of people that do a good job then the message you send is, ‘Do a good job, get fired,’ and that’s not the culture that you really want.
“I was asked [to change], and I said no. It’s not who I am … That would have been short-term. Those people that have left actually did a good job. Most of them are at other teams now, and just look at the results — you can see the difference … It’s not because I left. There was a mass of people that left.”
Alpine Endurance team Hypercar driver Nicolas Lapierre has announced his retirement from racing. The 40-year-old Frenchman – who has been acting as both a WEC prototype driver and team manager of European Le Mans Series LMP2 team Cool Racing in …
Alpine Endurance team Hypercar driver Nicolas Lapierre has announced his retirement from racing. The 40-year-old Frenchman — who has been acting as both a WEC prototype driver and team manager of European Le Mans Series LMP2 team Cool Racing in recent years — will take no further part in the current FIA WEC campaign.
Lapierre, whose lengthy career in sports car racing includes several significant accolades, including four Le Mans 24 Hours class wins and two victories at the Sebring 12 Hours, announced his decision on social media this afternoon. The announcement confirmed that he will not race at the WEC season finale next month in Bahrain. Lapierre bows out of his professional racing career with a Hypercar podium finish at Fuji Speedway last month (pictured at left, above), driving the No. 36 A424.
“Fuji was my last race as a driver,” he said. “It’s time for me to hang up my helmet and end this chapter of my life.
“It was great to finish this journey on the podium and spray the champagne once more. It was an honor for me to live for my passion for so many years and to do what I love.”
Lapierre hasn’t confirmed what he plans to do next, but he did tease in the video announcement that he is about to start “a new chapter on the other side of the pit wall,” hinting at a new, expanded role in team management.
In addition to his successes at Le Mans and Sebring, Lapierre also claimed six FIA WEC overall wins during a stint as a Toyota LMP1 driver and two additional victories racing with Alpine in Hypercar during the 2022 season.
He also won the WEC LMP2 championship twice with Signatech Alpine in 2016 and 2018/19, and has a Macau Grand Prix win to his name.
Alpine hasn’t yet announced who will replace him in Bahrain, though Jules Gounon is the obvious candidate. Gounon, the French manufacturer’s Hypercar reserve driver, has already made three starts this year for the team, at Imola, Spa and Fuji.
French sports car manufacturer Alpine has purchased a minority stake in its current Hypercar service provider Signatech, RACER has learned. This move gives Signatech long-term financial stability while allowing it to continue to operate …
French sports car manufacturer Alpine has purchased a minority stake in its current Hypercar service provider Signatech, RACER has learned.
This move gives Signatech long-term financial stability while allowing it to continue to operate independently going forward. It is a clear statement of intent from Alpine, which wishes to remain in sports car racing for years to come and achieve its ultimate goal of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in the current era.
For Signatech, which was founded in 1990, this new chapter comes after a longstanding association with Alpine. The link between the two organizations dates back to 2013 when Signatech partnered with the Dieppe-based brand for an LMP2 class attack on the European Le Mans Series. Since then it has been on a successful path, claiming multiple ELMS and FIA WEC LMP2 titles, three LMP2 class wins at Le Mans and a pair of overall FIA WEC victories in the early days of the Hypercar class, which led to Signatech’s current two-car flagship effort for Alpine in the WEC.
Bruno Famin, vice president of Alpine Motorsport, says there is “no limit” on the current program, and with Alpine now a part-owner of Signatech, the collaboration looks set to continue long into the future.
“Alpine is my partner now, and it’s a good signal for the program,” team principal Philippe Sinualt told RACER. “It’s important to note that they are really on board now with what we do. This doesn’t change the way we operate — it is important to keep independence, it keeps us agile and creative. We managed the situation with Bruno (Famin) and that is clear.
“It gives stability to our program. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been able to look a minimum of four to five years ahead. That’s why this is fantastic.”
Asked whether this stability opens up other doors for Signatech, Sinualt replied: “We are really focused on WEC. This project is so huge and each morning my staff only wake up to win Le Mans. That’s our game and we have no other involvement now in any other programs.”
Alpine’s Hypercar reserve driver Jules Gounon is eager to soak up as much information and track time as possible this weekend in Fuji. The Frenchman – who was thrown in at the deep end as the substitute for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg earlier …
Alpine’s Hypercar reserve driver Jules Gounon is eager to soak up as much information and track time as possible this weekend in Fuji. The Frenchman — who was thrown in at the deep end as the substitute for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg earlier this year at Imola and Spa — is back for a third start in the No. 35 A424 and senses a prime opportunity to impress.
In April when he received the call to race in Italy following Habsburg’s crash in testing, the situation was far from ideal. He lacked track time and the Signatech-run Alpine effort was still finding its feet with its new car.
Now, though, at the back end of the campaign, Gounon rejoins the team at an exciting moment, fresh from its best result of the season just two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas. There the A424 took a real step forward in performance terms and the No. 35 finished fifth.
“Everything was not ready for my debut, I had only one test day in the car before I arrived in Imola and everything was new,” he reflected in conversation with RACER. “I didn’t adapt to the systems and I didn’t do any work beforehand because I wasn’t expecting to drive. It was difficult, especially as I didn’t have any relevant downforce experience before in single-seaters or anything like that. All I did was one LMP2 test to convince Alpine to give me a reserve role!
“Spa was better, but still hard. All I had was 10 laps in each practice session and then in the races I did 45 minutes in Imola because of the changing conditions and in Spa, I did 50 minutes because of the red flag. It’s not a lot, so I’m definitely not where I want to be yet.
“However, coming back I can see a lot of progress since my last race, definitely,” he said. “Everyone has worked hard and it shows. The car feels much better, more consistent and more natural. The systems are better and that’s the key. There’s still a disadvantage compared to Porsche and Ferrari, who have more cars running and more time to analyze. But we all have the goal of building this.”
Better still, he has had ample time to mentally prepare for this cameo at Fuji in the seat usually occupied by Paul-Loup Chatin. To aid his development, this appearance was written into his contract before the season began, he’s had the weekend circled in his calendar for months.
Alpine photo
What would a strong performance on Sunday mean for his future? Right now, there are no guarantees, but a standout performance would surely improve his chances of securing a full-time Hypercar drive in the future.
Taking that step will not be easy, though Gounon has both the ability and a résumé that speaks for itself. During his time as a Mercedes-AMG factory driver, he has racked up Spa 24 Hours, Rolex 24 At Daytona and Bathurst 12 Hour wins to his name, as well as a pair of World Challenge Europe titles. Now he has an eye on what’s next.
Thus, he is grateful that Mercedes-AMG — a brand that aspires to compete in the FIA WEC but doesn’t currently have a program — has been so accommodating, allowing him to explore a future in Hypercar by adding this reserve role at Alpine to his ongoing GT racing commitments.
“We are definitely in the golden era for endurance racing, with so many factories and pro drivers. I want to be a part of that going forward,” Gounon said when asked about his ambition to race in the WEC’s top class. “At the same time, I still have a contract with Mercedes until the end of next year, so I know I will still be doing GT racing. If one day I get the chance (in Hypercar), I will take it, but I will definitely not stop GT racing.
“For now though, my goal is to not let my teammates down. I know what I can deliver in terms of performance in a prototype like this, but I am not there yet. I’m not seconds off; I just need to find the final few tenths. I don’t feel like I am on trial with the team, instead, I am on trial with myself and I want to show what I can do and impress.
“With the team in the position it is in now, we hope to score more points and make a strong statement. I want to be a part of that. Every weekend comes with new challenges. Hopefully, we can face them.”
Alpine and Honda have both been found to have made procedural breaches of the new Formula 1 power unit financial regulations, the FIA has announced. The cost cap for power unit manufacturers was only implemented for the first time last year, to …
Alpine and Honda have both been found to have made procedural breaches of the new Formula 1 power unit financial regulations, the FIA has announced.
The cost cap for power unit manufacturers was only implemented for the first time last year, to regulate the cost and development of the new power units that will be introduced in 2026. Reporting its findings of the first set of accounts, the FIA’s Cost Cap Administration (CCA), stated that four of the power unit suppliers were found to be compliant — Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull Powertrains and Audi — but there were discrepancies from Alpine and Honda that did not relate to an overspend.
“The CCA confirms that although Alpine Racing SAS and HRC (Honda) have both been found to be in procedural breach, neither have exceeded the cost cap level,” the FIA said. “Both Alpine Racing SAS and HRC have acted at all times in good faith and are currently cooperating with the CCA to finalize the matter.
“Considering the nature of the breach, the complexities of the new financial regulations for PU manufacturers and the challenges associated with their first year of implementation it is the CCA’s intention to propose to these two PU manufacturers to settle their respective breaches by means of an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA).”
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The CCA adds that should an ABA be reached with either of the power unit manufacturers, a summary of that agreement will be published as soon as possible.
The financial regulations for power unit manufacturers are separate to those for teams, and the FIA has announced that all 10 Formula 1 teams were found to be compliant with the 2023 financial regulations.
Alpine Endurance Team reserve driver Jules Gounon is set to make his third FIA WEC start of the 2024 season at next weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji. Gounon has been called up to race in the No. 35 A424 Hypercar in the seat normally filled by Paul-Loup …
Alpine Endurance Team reserve driver Jules Gounon is set to make his third FIA WEC start of the 2024 season at next weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji.
Gounon has been called up to race in the No. 35 A424 Hypercar in the seat normally filled by Paul-Loup Chatin and race alongside Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg. Alpine made the decision before the season began that Gounon would drive at Fuji in place of Chatin as part of his development within the team.
The original plan would have made this his first Hypercar start, but Gounon was called up to race in the No. 35 at both Imola and Spa to stand in for Habsburg. The Austrian was unable to take part after sustaining an injury during a testing incident in March.
Chatin, meanwhile, will rejoin Alpine’s Hypercar crew for the final race of the season in Bahrain.
Alpine’s future in the top class of sportscar racing appears bright as the 2024 FIA WEC season comes to a close. Just last weekend it achieved its best finish yet in the FIA WEC when its No. 35 A424 finished fifth overall, and in the background, …
Alpine’s future in the top class of sportscar racing appears bright as the 2024 FIA WEC season comes to a close. Just last weekend it achieved its best finish yet in the FIA WEC when its No. 35 A424 finished fifth overall, and in the background, work is ongoing to secure a future for the brand long-term, not only in the FIA WEC, but in IMSA too.
First off, Alpine welcomes the recent Hypercar ruleset extension to the end of the 2029 season, as its commitment to the category is open-ended. Beyond that, it is still exploring an expansion to IMSA GTP and holds continued interest in the forthcoming hydrogen regulations that are set to be introduced in 2028.
Regarding IMSA, it sees GTP as a potential platform to expand its commitment to top-end sportscar racing and help give the brand visibility in North America at a crucial time.
This is something that IMSA president John Doonan spoke with RACER about earlier this summer. He believes the French manufacturer is a prime example of a brand which could utilise an IMSA program to assist the launch of its road cars into the U.S. market.
“They want to come to the U.S. and sell road cars,” he said “If you bring the racing program as part of the brand launch, it’s an authentic way to launch a brand.
“To do that you need lots of elements, retail locations and a distribution network, but you need awareness more than anything else. What better way to get that than via showing the public what you can do on track?”
And it appears that Alpine is indeed taking a long, hard look at what going GTP racing with the A424 would look like, with Alpine Motorsports vice president Bruno Famin telling RACER at COTA last week that an expansion to IMSA remains on the table.
“We always said there would be no limit to our (WEC) program. We have no problem with the Hypercar rule extension and we have no limit,” he said.
“And IMSA is a potential scenario we are considering. But for the time being it’s just potential. What is not a secret is that the Alpine brand wants to return to the US in the coming years and the development of the Alpine brand awareness is based on its motorsport programs.
“So considering an IMSA program is something we may think about. Nothing is done yet regarding schedule, but we are considering it.”
Famin added that any GTP program would likely be a collaborative effort with a private team rather than a pure factory effort funded and managed entirely by the OEM.
“It would be a US-style program, where the factory is involved but the cars would be managed by a private team. It’s the business model in the USA and IMSA.
“We have been in a few talks but nothing very recently,” he added “We need to confirm first when Alpine would be ready to come back to the U.S. Once we have certainty about that we will come back to talking to the team.”
This evaluation coincides with the formation of the future regulation set for hydrogen-powered prototypes, which after its most recent delay is expected to come into play in 2028.
Stars, stripes, and French sports cars could become a more familiar combination. JEP/Motorsport Images
Alpine, Famin explained, remains interested in competing with the new technology but recognises that any transition from its current Hypercar program to an effort with hydrogen would need to be managed carefully.
“What we need to consider is whether you make a new car or not and with which category and with technology,” he said. “But we are happy. Hypercar is developing and has stability with potential newcomers in 2026.
“(Hydrogen) It’s something we are considering. We are working on the hydrogen technology. In Le Mans we had the Alpenglow complete a lap before the start and we are working hard on that. At the Paris Motor Show, we will show off a new version of that car.
“And if the regulations are clear and affordable we would be happy to consider it. No decision has been taken but everyone, the ACO, the FIA, knows we are very active on this technology and we may consider it for sure.
“What we know is that we won’t be able to do both programs in parallel. It will be a traditional car with traditional technology or a Hydrogen car. We will not do both.”
Alpine isn’t the only current Hypercar manufacturer facing this dilemma. Toyota is also invested in hydrogen technology and recently reaffirmed its intentions to compete with it in the future.
However, unlike Alpine, it would plan to compete with the GR010 Hypercar and a hydrogen prototype simultaneously when the two regulation sets first overlap.
In the meantime, Alpine is fully committed to improving the A424 and building momentum for its second season of Hypercar competition in 2025.
A big part of that has been to work on a permanent solution to the engine issue that led to a double retirement on its first Le Mans 24 Hours with the car back in June.
Signatech (Alpine’s WEC Hypercar service provider) boss Philippe Sinault told RACER in São Paulo that the problem was being ‘managed’ and that a permanent fix was being worked on.
And with the summer break over and the season’s final stretch in progress, Famin now confirms it is close to a permanent solution.
“We have implemented some modifications and we will keep working on it,” he explained to RACER.
“We have reduced the level of risk but we still have to work on it. We are still negotiating to see if it will be an Evo (Joker) or not. We have (new) parts on the car, but not all of them.”
Famin wouldn’t been drawn into the specifics of what the fix entails, but he did confirm that the ultimate solution is not to introduce an entirely new engine.
For the two French manufacturers in Hypercar – Peugeot and Alpine – the final leg of the 2024 WEC season presents a significant opportunity. Both are looking to generate some positive momentum ahead of what looks to be a crucial off-season for their …
For the two French manufacturers in Hypercar – Peugeot and Alpine – the final leg of the 2024 WEC season presents a significant opportunity. Both are looking to generate some positive momentum ahead of what looks to be a crucial off-season for their programs.
There’s no doubt about it, it’s been a challenging season for both, but for different reasons. These are two programs at completely different stages, fighting to make their mark racing in what is by far the most competitive top class in WEC history.
Peugeot TotalEnergies appears to be under the most pressure. It is coming to the end of its second full campaign with the 9X8, and despite switching to its 2024-spec car at Imola, has regularly struggled to compete at the sharp end of the field.
The new-look challenger, with its shift in aerodynamic concept and tire sizes, made its debut at Imola after a highly encouraging but ultimately heartbreaking Swansong for the old car in Qatar. There, the No. 93 fought for victory before hitting trouble in the closing minutes.
At that time things were looking up, the start of the season was head-turning and the promise of a new and improved 9X8 was reason for optimism. However, since the switch, Peugeot’s fortunes haven’t changed and the results of its development work over the off-season have been mixed at best.
On one hand, the 9X8 is more reliable and the drivers feel it gives them more confidence behind the wheel – it’s a more predictable car to drive. On the other, the team has struggled to extract outright pace and find consistency over a full race distance. Through four races the new car has a best finish of eighth in Sao Paulo.
Back in May, Linda Jackson – Peugeot’s CEO – praised the marketing value and return on investment that the WEC presents, referencing a spike in road car sales before, during and after the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023. But the harsh reality is that programs like this one will not be signed off by board members indefinitely if the results aren’t there.
Expectations at Peugeot are sky-high for its Hypercar project, yet it has been winless since it joined the grid at the tail end of the 2022 season.
“For the fans, for us, for the return on investment, to be honest, we need to win something,” Jackson said. “It’s time to deliver. It’s a very important investment. And, we decided to focus on the WEC we are not present elsewhere. Now is the time.”
The 2024-spec car’s journey so far featured Le Mans, the most important race for the team due to its prestige and location. Peugeot hoped its work to update the 9X8 would vault it into contention on home soil and see it compete for a fourth overall win.
But it didn’t work out that way and while both 9X8s finished the race, they failed to make an impact, coming home 11th and 12th, two laps down. That performance and subsequent struggles at Sao Paulo resulted in further frustration for its drivers.
Jean-Eric Vergne, who drives the No. 93, was both deflated and frustrated when he spoke to RACER after failing to make Hyperpole that weekend. He made it clear he feels that Peugeot needs more than just a favorable BoP change to become a contender.
“We don’t have performance,” he said. “We did the best we could. Set-up wise, plan wise, we are doing our best but we are just slow. We are losing time everywhere.
“It’s not getting better. It’s very frustrating and I don’t really know what to say. There’s no reason behind our extremely poor performance. We just aren’t quick enough.
“Our performance has nothing to do with Sao Paulo. Le Mans wasn’t great, Spa wasn’t great, Imola wasn’t great. It’s very difficult and it’s hard for the guys that do such a good job in our team. It doesn’t matter who you put in the car, you can’t go faster than this. It’s not the mechanics, drivers or engineers that are at fault.
“We need a better car. The car needs to change, 100 percent. There is nowhere to hide anymore.”
Peugeot has struggled in relation to its Hypercar rivals. JEP/Motorsport Images
A day later, the race itself proved to be kinder to the 9X8s, but still, they were no match for the likes of Porsche and Ferrari and certainly not Toyota, which dominated the race.
The No. 93 ran towards the front – but out-of-sequence – for much of the race before finishing eighth. So, with the race at CoTA just days away and visits to Fuji and Bahrain looming, where does Peugeot go from here?
Peugeot managed to test in Austin ahead of Lone Star Le Mans over the summer and took part in the Michelin tire test focused on the new Hypercar compounds, which were due to debut in 2025 but have been delayed to 2026
Peugeot has also announced another tweak to its driver roster ahead of what it hopes will be a more fruitful 2025 season. Gone is Nico Mueller who is off to Porsche (via Andretti in Formula E) for a fresh start, in is Malthe Jakobsen, who has been promoted rapidly from junior, to reserve and now a full-time driver.
The young Dane will become a Hypercar factory driver next year at age 21 and if his performances in an LMP2 car over the past two years are anything to go by, he will serve as an injection of fresh, positive energy.
Olivier Jansonnie, Peugeot’s technical director, knows that turning the program around will not be easy though. It needs to do more than freshen up its driver roster.
While there are no opportunities to debut any further updates to the car before the end of the current season due to the logistical constraints caused by the flyaways, developments are being explored for the 2025 season.
Speaking with RACER after the race in Brazil, Jansonnie gave a pragmatic assessment of the current situation.
“We didn’t have the pace to be at the front (in Sao Paulo). We knew tyre strategy would be paramount. But overall we executed a good strategy and we got the best out of our package,” he reflected. “That’s a positive. But we have to find more performance in the car. That’s for sure.
“There’s no reason why we can’t extract more pace. We are missing grip overall, that’s clear and we have ideas and options to fix it. We just need time to test.
“It’s difficult to improve during race weekends because practice is short and when you go to new circuits you are learning. I agree that we need to find pace in most areas. But I believe that will come from testing and set-up work.
“When you look at the timing of the season, the races are close so it’s unlikely we can bring something new for this season. But for sure we are thinking about what we can do during the winter in time for next season.
“For now we look to the final races.”
Meanwhile, at Alpine, the mood surrounding the program has its similarities and differences. Like Peugeot, its home race in June was a huge disappointment, but this is a younger project and it feels like there’s plenty more to come from the A424 ahead of its sophomore season next year. In general, there is more optimism to be found.
Of the new crop of Hypercar factories in 2024, you could argue that Alpine has shown the most promise. Look at the standings and the full-season No. 35 duo of Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi sit 15th, ahead of the two BMW crews and both the Lamborghini and Isotta trios, after points scores at Qatar and Spa.
There is still work to be done before Alpine can contend for race wins, and the disastrous outing at Le Mans has posed questions about the team’s engine package that still require answers. But, there is quiet optimism in the camp that the 2025 campaign will be a stronger one, with the French marque aiming to follow in Porsche’s footsteps and take a big step after its first year of competition.
Speaking with Alpine Endurance Team boss Philippe Sinault ahead of Alpine’s first race with the A424 in the USA, he made it clear he feels the team’s performances this year have been in line with his pre-season expectations – Le Mans aside.
Reliability has been a weakness for the A424, and the car has proven to be sensitive to different circuit styles. Sinualt rightly pointed out though that it is still early days for the project, which made its debut in Qatar after a test program that wasn’t as comprehensive or lengthy as he would have liked.
Nevertheless, the French brand is here with an ORECA-based challenger that looks the part, sounds the part, and has real potential to turn heads in the not-so-distant future.
“The expectation stays the same, even though Le Mans was not like we expected,” Sinault said ahead of the final leg of the 2024 season, We have to keep optimizing the time we have on track to build up knowledge and understanding of the car to be ready to fight at the front in 2025.
Reliability has been Alpine’s Achilles heel. JEP/Motorsport Images
“It’s not a lack of ambition, we are just growing step by step. We are closer to the others now, the gap is six, seven-tenths, and if we want to progress we have to keep finishing races.
“It’s important to understand that we had two options with a new car and a new program,” he continues. “We could have either tested alone to understand the car or enter it immediately for competition. We made the second choice, we were brave and we have to accept that sometimes we have issues. We feel the best way to understand a car and progress is to compete. That’s why we are here.”
While the car’s debut at Qatar was its most impressive showing so far, with the No. 35 finishing an impressive seventh overall and in the points, the opening phase of the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours, unfortunately, lives longer in the memory.
Alpine headed into Le Mans with high hopes, but these were quickly dashed when terminal engine issues saw both of its cars retire with the same root cause before 10 pm on Saturday night.
“It was huge, it was intense,” Sinualt reflected. “We learnt the most about the car there, even though we finished the race so early. We took a lot of experience from the week before, during testing and practice.
“It’s a young project, we identified that our issue could happen. We had issues of this type before but not before 24 hours of testing, not that early. It surprised us that after five hours we had these issues.
“We identified the trouble. Now we will react with some inputs into an update but it’s too soon to say if it will be in a joker loop or not. We can’t make changes now, we just have to adapt the way we use the engine.
“Le Mans is key to the project, the foundation is there. After Le Mans, we remain convinced that the package is perfect.”
Sinault explained that the problem has been identified and is being managed. A permanent fix is being evaluated, and the determination needs to be made if it requires a ‘Joker’ (update). Depending on how it all comes together, the change will be made in either “September, October or 2025.”
“Everyone has worked hard to prevent this issue from happening again,” he says. “It’s too early (now) to make big changes and play ‘Jokers’. The main part of the improvements to the car will be on this side with the team.
“The package and the base are really good. We are close to the others with very low mileage. So we prefer to say at the moment that we have to work well as a team. We have identified items that could be better but there’s no time for this at the moment.”
With the summer break now over, the remaining races present interesting challenges.
“Our car is a low downforce car at the moment,” Sinualt said. “If we want to progress, we have to work on tracks with different profiles, and the end of the calendar has three very different tracks. It’s going to give us a clear view by the end of the season. On low downforce tracks, we are okay, we’ve made progress with the brakes and TC and so on.
“The freight between Sao Paulo and COTA means we haven’t had the opportunity to book tests in Europe. But we have identified some subjects in terms of management of the engine and MGU and so on, and we are working on that.
“It will be an intense autumn and winter program because we have to summarize all our information and make some improvements. Maybe we will play some ‘Jokers’, we don’t know, but the winter will be the right time to prepare for 2025, not now.
“You never know how it will play out, but we expect to take steps with the car and keep the same drivers (for 2025). We have created a foundation with them.”
