Alpine lost a likely LaFerrari at Fuji, choosing not to sacrifice a hypercar during the final safety‑car pit stop, the team said.
Alpine’s pre‑safety‑car dominance
Entering the last hour, Alpine’s twin A424 LMDh prototypes had already controlled every corner, holding both first and second places on the grid. The French manufacturer was on a clear path to a season‑high podium.
Nothing could have tipped the scales until a violent crash involving the #58 McLaren LMGT3 prompted a full safety‑car start, halting the race for almost half an hour. The long caution rewrote the strategy playbook for every entrant.
Toyota’s daring fuel cut pays off
With the track under the safety‑car’s full‑blown, Toyota’s #8 TR010, driven by Ryo Hirakawa, had its fuel tank severely under‑filled. The team seized the moment, shortened the fuel load and avoided the last‑minute tyre change, allowing Hirakawa to seize the lead once the caution was lifted.
By contrast, Alpine’s sporting director Nicolas Lapierre steered both cars into the pit lane simultaneously, swapping only tires while the pit boxes were occupied by the sister #35 entry. The tactic meant the #36 car, later piloted by Victor Martins, re‑entered the track three seconds too late to keep pace with the Toyota.
Alpine’s “team spirit” decision
Lapierre described the choice as prioritising “team spirit” over the hard chance of winning a single car. He admitted that if the team had gone all‑in on one vehicle, a victory was within reach, but the staggered pit stops surrendered both instant and strategic advantage.
Alpine’s strategy also reflected the pit lane geography: the #36 was perched directly behind the #35, forcing a careful manoeuvre to avoid blocking. “We didn’t lose time from adding tyres, we pulled back and exited again, so that was an advantage,” Martins said.
Driver reckoning and the final minutes
Martins, who shared the #36 with Jules Gounon, voiced disappointment that the race finished 0.591 seconds behind Hirakawa, marking the closest finish in WEC history. “After Austin, we were at the front again, so we felt we had it in the bag,” he added.
Despite the near‑miss, the team celebrated 30 points for the weekend, the most a single team had achieved in a single WEC event. The #35 entry, driven by Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg, capped the weekend with a fourth‑place finish, following a strategic gamble by the #15 BMW.
Looking forward
Alpine’s assessment of the Fuji race underlines the fine line between risk and reward in endurance racing, a line that will define the French team’s pursuit of the championship title.
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