Can Alpine Racing Pull Off a Major Surprise at Le Mans?

Every morning, weary-eyed engineer Bruno Famin wakes up and decides to walk a tightrope so long that he’ll still be balanced on it well after dinner time. Previously masterminding victories at Le Mans and Dakar, and having played a crucial role in Sébastien Loeb’s record-setting run at Pikes Peak, Famin last year assumed the duty-laden role of vice-president of Alpine Racing.

Yet, the immediate task on hand for him involves correcting the course of a Formula 1 team that struggled to score a single point in the first six rounds of the 2024 season, as well as refining a nascent World Endurance Championship (WEC) program. It's a high-wire act, where one misstep could end a season prematurely.

Curious to understand what Alpine is doing to escape their performance slump, I spent time with their team at the 6 Hours of Spa last month.

Their brand-new hypercar, the A424, was in for its third outing, carrying with it questions about its competitiveness. While it had a strong eighth-place finish in Qatar thanks to clever fuel savings, the subsequent race at Imola was far more challenging. Contact in the first turn and issues with the track’s high kerbs resulted in 13th and 16th place finishes.

Shortly before qualifying commenced, I had a chance to meet Famin in a team tent snugly placed between the iconic La Source and Eau Rouge at Spa. The palpable tension was almost tangible, as the team had placed eighth out of 19 hypercars in the final practice session – almost a full second ahead of BMW behind. Was the strong finish at Qatar merely a fluke, or did the A424 possess genuine pace?

Famin was almost impossible to read, a mask of expressionless calm hiding any traces of the storm raging within. “The start of the season is quite in line with what we expected,” he said, adding, “Not an easy one: maybe the anomaly is much more Qatar than Imola, because Qatar went smoothly. It was a 10-hour race. We brought both cars to the finish line without any problems and scored points. [We have] to be careful: Qatar was not the 'normal' life, then back to reality in Imola.”

So, if not to win, what’s Alpine’s objective in their racing programs? Famin suggested brand visibility and awareness were the real treasures. The Alpine A110, a spectacular car in its own right, has struggled to gain traction since its launch. To support a more expansive line-up of electric vehicles in new markets such as the US, Alpine needs better brand recognition.

“What we want to gain in WEC is the same thing that we want to gain in Formula 1: brand awareness,” said Famin. “Alpine is racing because we want to develop brand awareness globally. Le Mans, just like Formula 1, is known everywhere in the world.”

When it comes to Le Mans, the pressure is immense, given the race’s historical significance and the sheer prestige attached to it. How confident was Famin feeling? “The expectation of Le Mans is to win,” Famin said, before pausing, “...but not this year.” Ah, it appeared like a cloud of pessimism still hung over the Alpine headquarters.

“It’s our first year and Spa is only our third race. Le Mans will be our fourth. We have a lot to learn, and we will approach it with humility because the competition is incredibly strong.” His cautious optimism struck a realistic chord, hinting at Alpine’s calculated approach.

Qualifying at Spa turned out to be quite an unexpected affair. Despite grounded expectations, the Alpines edged out a few Porsches, Ferraris, and Toyotas. One car even made it into the Hyperpole – the Le Mans equivalent of Formula 1’s Q3 – placing seventh ahead of two Ferraris.

On race day, the pace of the two Alpines was strong from the outset, though not quite up to the level of the frontrunning Ferraris and Porsches. In a race compressed by several crashes into a series of sprints, the Alpines maintained their positions in the top half of the pack. After a harrowing crash and a two-hour extension, the Alpines came home in ninth and twelfth.

With that, Famin’s apparent pessimism may have been misplaced, at least partly. You could argue that Alpine’s results in Qatar and Spa were buoyed by chaotic circumstances, but isn't endurance racing about capitalizing on chaos? Even the underperforming Peugeots nearly tasted glory under last year’s rain, with showers on the horizon once again.

Part of Alpine's resurgence could be attributed to its dedicated drivers, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mick Schumacher. Habsburg, who fractured two vertebrae in April, returned after missing Imola and Spa, fired up and ready for Le Mans. Schumacher, vying for a potential Alpine F1 seat next season, has his sights set on proving his worth. After all, what better stage than Le Mans to showcase your talents?

Schumacher’s future with Alpine could very well depend on his performance. Esteban Ocon’s departure opens at least one seat, which Schumacher is eyeing voraciously. He chose Alpine’s WEC program because it is the “closest to Formula 1,” aiming to maximize his chances of an F1 return.

What better place than Le Mans, a race watched by millions, to make an indelible impression? A strong drive – if not a victory – could help bolster Schumacher’s stock for an F1 comeback.

It would be optimistic to believe Alpine could comfortably outpace Porsche, Ferrari, and Toyota, especially considering Balance of Performance (BoP) regulations, which maintain the Alpines' power output at a relatively restrained 680bhp. Reliability remains a key concern for a newly debuted car running an iconic endurance race.

Nevertheless, completely counting out Alpine, as it seems Famin has done, might be premature.