After two days of analysing the data collected during the Test Day, Alpine Endurance Team returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the first free practice sessions. Ferdinand Habsburg and Frédéric Makowiecki started an intense programme focused on the A424's set-up before their teammates took over.

 

 

Two and a half hours later, the tension mounted with qualifying, entrusted to Paul-Loup Chatin in the #35 and Mick Schumacher in the #36. Starting on medium tyres in very hot conditions, both secured an initial time before setting out again in pursuit of the fastest lap. Mick Schumacher improved to 3m23.945s on his final attempt, while Paul-Loup Chatin's first effort was enough to secure a place in the Hyperpole despite a high-speed scare in the final minutes.

 

 

At dusk, the French team began the second free practice session for their first night-time outing. The six drivers settled into the darkness and continued their in-depth work, which kept on going on Thursday after an Alpenglow Hy6 demo run with the Mayor of Le Mans, Mr Stéphane Le Foll, in the passenger seat. FP3 followed to study long stints and the evolution of the Michelin tyres. The two crews gathered as much information as possible before heading to the Hyperpole.

 

 

Paul-Loup Chatin and Mick Schumacher got back behind the wheel for Hyperpole 1. Mick Schumacher completed his first flying lap in 3m24.183. He then pitted for a second set of medium tyres and provisionally took the lead with a time of 3m23.452s. The German driver ultimately finished fifth, securing a place for the #36 Alpine A424 in Hyperpole 2. Paul-Loup Chatin finished twelfth, missing out on the top ten by a mere 92/1000ths of a second.

 

 

Per the new regulations introduced this year, another driver from the #36 crew got behind the wheel 15 minutes later for Hyperpole 2. Frédéric Makowiecki completed his first two attempts in 3m30.771s and 3m24.398s before finishing his final push lap in 3m24.488s to settle for ninth place on the grid.
The day ended with the final free practice session, during which Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin validated their final adjustments in the #35 car, as did Frédéric Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher in the #36 car.

 

 

On Friday, both crews will participate in the traditional parade through the city centre of Le Mans. On Saturday at noon, Alpine Endurance Team will partake in the warm-up before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at 4 pm.

 

 

Paul-Loup Chatin
"I think we had a lot more potential, but I was glad our first run was good enough to go through on Wednesday. We continued to work to get the car into a good performance window for Hyperpole. It felt good, but I made a small mistake on my first fast lap. Then, I wanted to secure a time, but this format requires perfection over one lap as everything comes down to the smallest details. I didn't manage to do that tonight, but I'm happy for the team that Mick was able to set an excellent time to put an A424 in Hyperpole 2. It's a great reward, and now all our focus is on the race."

 

 

Mick Schumacher
"Qualifying was more difficult than expected with constantly changing conditions, but it was satisfying to get through to Hyperpole. We made good use of the practice sessions to fine-tune our race setup. The team did a good job of getting everything ready, and we were positively surprised by our performance in Hyperpole 1. The car was on pace right from the first flying lap, and it was great to qualify for Hyperpole 2. We will start in the top ten, which is good, even though the hardest part is still to come. We will prepare as best we can and I think we are all very much looking forward to the race."

 

 

Frédéric Makowiecki
"It was a positive qualifying session overall. I want to thank the team very much because everyone has worked so hard since the start of the programme, the start of the year and the start of this long week in Le Mans. We had a few minor issues but managed to understand and fix them. We had an efficient, high-performing, competitive car tonight, which we could use to push. We could even have aimed a little higher. The goal is now clear: to fight hard in the race and try to give our competitors a run for their money!"

 

 

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
"The last few days have shown that you should never overreact at Le Mans. Every time we go out on track, we discover new parameters, such as track conditions and temperatures, that are very different from Sunday's Test Day. Grip levels and car behaviour have changed, but we kept working with a cool head and focus on the race. We aimed to get both cars into Hyperpole 1 and then try to get both into Hyperpole 2, which we missed by less than a tenth of a second. The drivers did a good job of staying focused on the essentials. The team also reacted intelligently and quickly to test many things in FP3 and have a competitive car for Hyperpole. This work then continued to validate and refine the final setup. Despite the conditions’ changes, we got through the week without any issue. The hardest part starts now, but I feel we are well prepared for the race."

 

 

Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team
"These two days have been intense. The gaps are extremely tight, and the battle on track has been fierce. We are satisfied with the overall result of the qualifying sessions and have made good progress with our race pace throughout the sessions. It is still difficult to accurately assess our real position in the hierarchy, but we still have tomorrow to continue working and finalise our preparations. The drivers did a good job without making any mistakes, which is also a very positive point."


Free Practice 1
9. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m26.120s (40 laps)
14. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m26.772s (39 laps)


Qualifying
9. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m23.945s (8 laps)
14. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m24.667s (6 laps)


Free Practice 2
12. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m27.635s (26 laps)
18. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m28.451s (27 laps)


Free Practice 3
15. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m28.702s (42 laps)
20. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m30.035s (36 laps)


Hyperpole 1
5. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m23.462s (6 laps)
12. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m24.153s (6 laps)


Hyperpole 2
9. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3m24.398s (4 laps)


Free Practice 4
10. Alpine Endurance Team #35 3m28.346s (14 laps)
14. Alpine Endurance Team #36 3’m29.231s (13 laps)



TIMETABLE (CEST)


Friday 13 June
4:00-7:00 pm: Driver parade


Saturday 14 June
12:00-12:15 pm: Warm-up
12:30 pm: Hydrogen Demonstration with Alpenglow Hy6
4:00 pm: Start of the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans


Sunday 15 June
4:00 pm: Finish of the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans