Alpine Drivers Not Expecting A424 Seats as Geely Hopes Fade

Alpine’s current roster of drivers have admitted they do not expect to continue racing the A424 in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year as hopes of Geely taking over the Signatech-run team appear to have faded.

Signatech boss Philippe Sinault has held talks with various parties about keeping the A424s on the grid following the news announced on the eve of this season that Alpine would withdraw from the WEC at the end of the campaign.

With hopes of Geely stepping forward to acquire the team thought to have come to naught, the squad’s drivers have been philosophical about the situation.

Jules Gounon, who has been part of the Alpine program since it entered the Hypercar class in 2024, admitted he has no real prospect of continuing to race a Hypercar next year, but still has a contract to drive Mercedes-AMG GT3 machinery until the end of 2028.

“Our future is pretty much done,” said Gounon of the Alpine situation. “If you stop the program in the middle of October, the [driver] market is done, unfortunately.

“I don’t think there are any opportunities in the paddock to get a seat. We hoped that the program would continue, unfortunately it’s not the case.

“It has been an amazing time. We showed in the last few races we could contend for a win. Unfortunately it slipped out of our hands in Fuji, but that’s the way it is.

“On my side, I am a bit sad because I really felt I made a really good step this year in Hypercar, I felt I could belong here.

“But it’s like that. I had the same feeling when the program with Bentley came to a stop — they announced it in December at Kyalami. It’s like this in motorsport.”

Gounon described the combination of the Signatech team and A424 as “the perfect opportunity” for a manufacturer that wants to enter the WEC because the “car is fast, the team is experienced.”

Fellow Alpine ever-present Ferdinand Habsburg added that the situation had not changed from his side and he is not anticipating racing a Hypercar next year.

“Before the first race in Imola, I was not expecting to drive in this car next year,” he said.

“I know there’s a lot of rumors online, it’s happening, it’s not happening — it’s completely disconnected from reality.

“This job is extremely wonderful and awesome but it’s not the most secure one.

“Of course, would I want to continue with this team and with this car, it would be awesome.

“But something else will come along for all of us — in the motorsport world, things leave, things change, things come back.”

Unlike Habsburg and Gounon, 2022 FIA Formula 3 champion Victor Martins only joined the team for this season and admitted he faces an uncertain future.

“The last thing I want to happen is not having a seat somewhere and not racing,” said Martins, who is understood to have also held talks with some Formula E teams, including Nissan and Lola, but without fruition.

“I am pushing to see if there are opportunities to stay in WEC. Of course, the priority is to stay in Hypercar, that’s my main target, and I think I delivered good performance and good results to prove I deserve to be in the top class.

“At the same time, I am looking at other opportunities — I don’t want to limit myself only to this.

“We know that Philippe is pushing 100 percent to make something happen. I am confident that if it happens, I will be part of those discussions, but on my side, it’s very uncertain.”

Sinault: Talks Still Happening to Keep Team on WEC Grid

Signatech boss Philippe Sinault insists he is still having discussions with interested parties about the team continuing on the WEC grid next year, despite admitting to feeling less confident about these than earlier in the year.

With a late November deadline looming for the team’s future to be secured, Sinault did say that sometimes deals can be struck at the critical moment and is “100 percent committed” to preserving his squad’s place in the championship.

“We are still in touch with some opportunities so we push really, really hard to say, ‘Hey guys, we’re there and we can make something really special all together,’” he told Sportscar365.

“When in revolution, emergency time happens, sometimes — many times — something happens (with a deal).

“We trust in that. We trust the opportunities and we consider all these opportunities and something can happen. I’m less comfortable to be honest compared with April and May, but my job is to be ready.”

Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the team, Sinault described being “really, really impressed” by the “remarkable” attitude of his staff.

“It’s helped me a lot,” he acknowledged. “It’s a difficult time but since we’re on track it’s easy.

“We want to win a race, we want to take some podiums, we want to prove to everybody that we’re still a good team.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report