Alpine is planning a comprehensive update package for the A424 LMDH by Mick Schumacher and his teammates for the coming season (WEC): The focus of the planned measures is the aerodynamics such as Bruno Famin, Vice President of Alpine Motorsport.
Background: The two-stage BOP system that was used for the first time last season had a negative impact on the original low-drag concept of the Alpine A424. The original Aero concept was designed for low downforce and a high top speed, Famin recalls.
But the new BOP system, which aimed at a better adjustment of the starter field, became a disadvantage for Alpine. Because the maximum performance has been adjusted at speeds over 250 km/h since then, the advantage of the A424 was largely lifted when it comes to the final speed.
Alpine with a focus on Le Mans developed
This also shows a look at our BOP analysis for the WEC race in Sao Paulo. There, Alpine even caused a new negative record in terms of the ratio of performance to weight. The graphic clearly shows how much the Alpine A424 falls out of line compared to the other vehicles.
“We developed our car with a clear focus on little air resistance and little downforce,” Famin recalls in an interview with Sportscar365. “All vehicles have to move within a certain performance window. This window is an area, so you can stay in different corners of the same window.”
“We chose the corner with little air resistance and little downforce, also because Le Mans is of course the big goal of the season,” says the Frenchman. “Then the vehicle was homologated accordingly. Then the introduction of the so -called two power strips, which serve to compensate for the top speed of all cars.”
First wind tunnel test at the end of 2025
“That meant: Our advantage through the compensation of the low output, namely a high top speed, was gone. We still have the low output, but no longer the final speed advantage.” And that is exactly why Alpine will revise the Aero concept for the 2026 season.
At the end of this year, the aerodynamic innovations are to be put to the test in the Windshear Wind Canal in North Carolina before the Aero-upgrade should already be implemented on the car at the WEC start 2026 in Qatar.
“We have to plan carefully and make sure that everything works,” said Famin. “After that, homologation takes place, and then we start implementation.” Alpine pulled the first Evo-Joker last winter to make improvements to the engine.
Alpine continues to develop engine in Viry
There are also some changes in this regard, reveals the Alpine Vice President. Because the Formula 1 team from Alpine will switch to Mercedes engines in the coming year, corresponding resources were released at the previous engine location in Viry-Chatillon at Paris.
The Alpine engine program for the WEC is now being coordinated from there, Famin reveals. “Since the middle of the year, for a few weeks now, everything has been done in our work in Viry-Chatillon,” says the Frenchman. “The construction of the engines, test bench runs, all small developments.”
You can’t change much because of the homologation anyway, but Alpine continues to work on the reliability that was a problem in the WEC debut year. In the future, the original engine partner Mecachrome will only be involved in the project in a reduced form as a component supplier.
“There are always things that can be improved with such an engine,” says Bruno Famin as an alpine manager. “Today everything is done in Viry. Previously, Mecachrome was our main partner in this area, but now everything is running with us.”