Third and last season for Alpine Endurance Team
The 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship is especially significant for the Alpine Endurance Team as it marks the third and final season of the A424 in the FIA WEC's top category. After two years of learning and hard work, Alpine Endurance Team now aims to keep building momentum after last year's maiden victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji.
Over the winter, the A424 took to the track at Portimão, MotorLand Aragón, and more recently Spa-Francorchamps to explore several areas of development. These tests enabled the team to validate several upgrades, deepen their understanding of the A424 in different conditions, and identify areas for further improvement.
Alpine already has an impressive track record in Emilia-Romagna, including last year when the French team delivered a superb performance to secure third place in the Hypercar category thanks to an inspired strategy for the #36 A424.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2025. Alpine Endurance Team strategy earned a P3 for #36 A424.
Like their rivals, Les Bleus are now at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the opening of the FIA World Endurance Championship. On Tuesday, Alpine Endurance Team has completed the FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue, the final step in its preparations for the 2026 season opener.
The team used the two sessions and eight hours of track time to cover 377 laps, or 1850.693 km, to work on its operational execution in different conditions. To make the most of it, Alpine Endurance Team relied on the experience of Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi in the #35, as well as Frédéric Makowiecki and Jules Gounon in the sister #36 car. The line-ups were completed by António Félix da Costa and Victor Martins, who continued their integration after joining over the winter.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. #8 TR010 HYBRID
António Félix da Costa: “We've made solid progress over our recent tests, and the Prologue allowed us to fine-tune several areas while building strong cohesion within the crew. It was also my first time at Imola, which is quite remarkable after more than 20 years of racing. It's an incredible track with a lot of history, and I really enjoyed discovering it while making steady progress as I continue to discover the Alpine A424. Today was another important step forward in my preparation. We'll now analyse everything we learned and tested to be as ready as possible. After this first race, we'll have a clearer picture of where we stand and be able to define our objectives for the rest of the season.”
Charles Milesi: “We're really looking forward to the first race of the season. It was important to complete a clean programme and get back into a competitive environment during the Prologue. Despite challenging conditions at times, we were able to work on several areas, including running on both wet and slick tyres, while continuing to build our pace. We also focused on improving our understanding of key areas, particularly qualifying performance, which was not our strongest point last year. The overall feeling is positive, and we now have a lot of data to analyse as we continue to make progress. I think we have what it takes to deliver a strong start to the season so we can't wait to see how it all comes together this weekend.”
Ferdinand Habsburg: “Imola is one of my favourite tracks in the world, so starting the season here is a real pleasure. The Prologue gave us some first references, including against the competition, and we approached it in a methodical way to gather valuable data. It was a mixed day, with both positives and areas to improve. Those are actually the most encouraging, as they clearly highlight where we can take another step forward. The focus now is on working through those areas to maximise our package, further close the gap and hopefully start the season on a strong note.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. #7 TR010 HYBRID
Frédéric Makowiecki: “After a long winter, it's great to be so close to the first race. The team has worked incredibly hard over the past few months, and the Prologue allowed us to build solid foundations in many key areas. Conditions were quite tricky at times, which meant we couldn't fully explore everything we had planned, but we still managed to find some important answers on a number of topics. We now hope to turn that work into a strong result in Imola, a demanding circuit where execution will be key.”
Jules Gounon: “It was a productive afternoon, with a full programme including qualifying simulations, long runs and wet running. We were able to cover a wide range of conditions, and I felt very comfortable in the car. This season also sees Victor join the line-up. We've already spent time training and working together and the chemistry is strong. We're now looking forward to putting that into practice on track and hopefully we're going to have a good season.”
Victor Martins: “I'm very happy to be back racing after several months of preparation. The Prologue was a great opportunity to continue learning the car while working with the team in a competitive environment. I was able to run in a variety of conditions, wet, drying and fully dry, and test the different tyre compounds. It was a very valuable day in terms of understanding endurance, including traffic management. I'm getting more comfortable with every session, with the systems, the engineers and my teammates. As a rookie in endurance racing, I'm trying to learn as much as possible to keep improving. There is still work to do, and we'll analyse everything ahead of the weekend to come back stronger.” Source: Alpine
Related News
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola 2026. BMW M Team WRT’s #20 BMW M Hybrid V8
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Ferrari on top of Imola's WEC Prologue
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans 2025. 8 Ferraris for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans
📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans 2025. 7 GM entries for the next 24 Hours of Le Mans
