As Motorsport.com Italia reports, Alpine is rolling into the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship final stretch with a drastically slimmed-down driver roster, starting next weekend at the 6 hours of Fuji. The French squad will tackle the Japanese round with just two drivers per car inside their A424 machines. That means no seat for Antonio Félix Da Costa or Frédéric Makowiecki.
For the #35 car, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi will handle the driving duties alone. Over in the #36 machine, Jules Gounon and Victor Martins will form the two-man crew. Da Costa is reportedly packing his bags for a move to Cadillac-Jota to replace Sébastien Bourdais, while Makowiecki's omission is a sharper surprise given his heavy involvement in developing and evolving the Signatech-managed LMDh package.
We will have to be ready to face every scenario and play a weekend in the name of solidity to put ourselves back in a position to fight in the leading positions.
While no official reason was given for the trimmed lineups, the move strongly suggests a push to pinch pennies as the season winds down and the current Alpine A424 program nears its final curtain. Rumors have circulated for weeks that another brand is stepping in to acquire the entire operation.
Despite the personnel shakeup, the team heads back to the venue of its maiden Hypercar victory with a positive mindset. "The Fuji represents for us a special event," says Team Principal Philippe Sinault, pointing to last year's historic win. "It is here that last year we conquered the first success of the A424 in the Hypercar category, an incredibly emotional moment that demonstrated our ability to win at the highest levels against extremely fierce competition."
Sinault notes that the garage arrives with high morale following Austin, where both cars finished inside the top five. Yet the challenges of the circuit remain formidable. "With its long straight, demanding technical sections and often unpredictable weather conditions, especially considering that the event takes place during the typhoon season in Japan, this 6h always represents a unique challenge," Sinault adds. "We will have to be ready to face every scenario and play a weekend in the name of solidity to put ourselves back in a position to fight in the leading positions."
