Alpine has dropped Antonio Felix da Costa and Fred Makowiecki from its line-up for this weekend’s World Endurance Championship race at Fuji Speedway.
The French producer will change to two-driver line-ups for the sixth spherical of the season, with Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi piloting the #35 A424 and Jules Gounon and Victor Martins sharing the sister #35 entry.
Da Costa and Makowiecki had appeared on the unique entry record for Fuji 6 Hours when it was printed earlier this month, however Alpine introduced on Tuesday that each drivers will now sit out the race.
Neither driver is predicted to return for the ultimate two rounds of the season in Barcelona and Monza, though Alpine is but to verify that their 2026 campaigns have been minimize quick.
With the WEC dropping the long-distance races in Qatar and Bahrain in favour of normal six-hour occasions in Europe, groups now not have to subject three drivers in every automobile this 12 months.
#35 Alpine Endurance Crew Alpine A424: Antonio Felix Da Costa, Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi, #36 Alpine Endurance Crew Alpine A424: Jules Gounon, Frederic Makowiecki, Victor Martins
Photograph by: Paul Foster
Two-driver crews have gotten extra widespread in Hypercar, providing groups extra strategic choices in races and drivers extra monitor time in apply. Aston Martin ran two-driver crews in any respect races besides the Le Mans 24 Hours this 12 months, whereas Cadillac’s #12 automobile additionally raced with two drivers at Imola and Sao Paulo due to Alex Lynn’s absence.
The adjustments to Alpine’s line-up come amid a transitional interval for the model. With the Renault Group having introduced plans to depart Hypercar on the finish of the 12 months, its operational associate Signatech is within the means of discovering a brand new producer to take over the programme. Chinese language model Geely has been strongly linked with a tie-up with Signatech for 2027.
Additional, da Costa’s doubtless exit from Alpine lends credence to rumours that he’ll be a part of Cadillac subsequent 12 months, reuniting with the Jota staff with which he gained Le Mans and WEC LMP2 titles in 2022.
The driving force adjustments come precisely a 12 months after Habsburg, Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin broke via to ship Alpine its first Hypercar win with the A424 at Fuji.
Alpine has not loved the identical stage of success this season amid elevated competitors within the Hypercar class, however it scored its first podium of 2026 at Austin earlier this month, with da Costa, Milesi and Habsburg ending third within the Lone Star Le Mans.
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