Buemi: Alpine Form in Hypercar “Very Difficult to Read”

Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Sebastien Buemi feels that Alpine’s form in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship has been “very difficult to read” so far.

Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley finished second at the 6 Hours of Monza behind Matthieu Vaxiviere, Nicolas Lapierre and Andre Negrao in the Alpine A480 Gibson.

The Alpine, which is a grandfathered ORECA-built LMP1 car, was comparable to the LMH-spec Toyota GR010 Hybrids in terms of pace and stint length on Sunday afternoon.

This produced the closest battles between Toyota and Alpine in the Hypercar class to date, after the latter struggled to match the former’s lap counts per stint last year.

Alpine’s form has fluctuated throughout the current WEC season, with the French team dominating the 1000 Miles of Sebring before taking second at a rain-hit Spa where it ran with a 20-kW power reduction courtesy of a Balance of Performance ruling.

It then had a challenging 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it was affected by BoP corrections in the buildup before encountering mechanical problems during the race.

Despite that, Alpine’s drivers narrowly maintained their championship lead and extended it by winning at Monza, to the frustration of the No. 8 Toyota crew.

“Obviously [we are] a bit frustrated to not get the win, for the championship,” Buemi told Sportscar365.

“We were really surprised by the speed of the Alpine. Very difficult to read.

“They were four seconds off in the first sessions at Le Mans, then in quali they went like us, and were so slow in the race.

“They [the FIA and ACO] gave them a tiny bit [of power] back and they are even faster than us. Everyone is trying to make it fair, but with them it’s impossible to follow.”

Four-time Le Mans winner Buemi appeared conflicted about the close on-track fights at Monza between the Toyota LMHs and the Alpine LMP1, which is in its final WEC season.

The Toyota, which is more powerful but heavier than the Alpine, was stronger on the long straights but less effective in the corners, making for some exciting racing sequences.

When asked if he enjoyed the close-quarters action, Buemi replied: “Yes and no. We raced a car that is not made to compete with ours.

“They go fast in the corners and have no [tire degradation] so they can do four stints on the tires.

“They were a bit slower on the straights but nearly went the same speed as us. I don’t feel like it makes any sense, but that’s the way it is.”

Vaxiviere said that he “really enjoyed” the tussle between Alpine and Toyota.

That was even though it spilled over at times, most notably when Kamui Kobayashi and Vaxiviere touched on the main straight, causing the No. 7 Toyota’s right-rear tire to blow out.

“I really enjoyed these battles; it’s what we want to see,” said Vaxiviere, who described Kovayashi’s movement, which was met with a 90-second penalty, as a “bit too far”.

“It was a great race and a great fight. We were all doing the same lap times, not in the same way, but I really enjoyed it.

“It was really nice to have all these Hypercars all together. Then we just did a perfect job with the strategy, and the pit stops as well. It was really smart.

“I’m more than happy about this race and it’s really a victory for all the team.”

Toyota Managed No. 8 Car Issue On the Fly

Buemi and the No. 8 Toyota crew overcame a potential early setback when their car experienced problems with its electronically controlled brakes during the first hour.

Toyota’s WEC technical director Pascal Vasselon explained that the car was switched into a “default mode” that left Buemi with hydraulic brakes for a couple of laps while the electronic glitch was sorted.

“We did not lose that much time, but here we see that the experience of the team is remarkable because we have managed it very well,” he said.

“We went into default mode which meant we were on mechanical brakes. We have done a couple of laps on mechanical brakes.

“It gave us time to solve the problem and it’s something we have prepared for. Preparing it in testing and doing it perfectly in a race is different, and here the No. 8 team has been really good.

“Seb Buemi has been really good to manage this change of system. In the end, we recovered quite quickly.”