Gounon: “Compromises” by Alpine, AMG Key to WEC Seat

Jules Gounon says he will have a lighter schedule with Mercedes-AMG as a result of his promotion to Alpine’s full-time roster of FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar drivers, which will require “compromises” between the two brands.

The 30-year-old was confirmed in November to be stepping up Alpine’s regular driver roster after a year of acting as reserve driver with the French brand.

In addition to his newly increased Alpine commitments, Gounon is set to continue his duties as a factory driver with Mercedes-AMG, a position he has held since 2021.

The Andorran signed a three-year contract extension ahead of the 2023 season, with that deal set to expire at the end of this year.

Gounon outlined that the task of taking on factory-level commitments with two manufacturers simultaneously will require ‘compromises,’ indicating that he is set to scale back his involvements with Mercedes-AMG as a result of his WEC drive.

“Obviously I’m very happy to be with Alpine full time,” Gounon told Sportscar365.

“It was always my target to be in a full-time Hypercar driving WEC, on top of that with a competitive car which Alpine have.

“They are going improving all the time so it’s really feeling great. I have to be thankful to both brands, AMG and Alpine, for working together on trying to make the best compromises, because there is compromises to make in between both programs.

“So I will have a lighter program with AMG, definitely, but focused more on the big objective of the brands, which I can’t tell you yet, but there is a great program coming up with AMG.

“So I’m very thankful for AMG for letting me do my prototype dream and at the same time letting me compete in their best drive for the GT [races], so I will try to reward both of the brands I work for by working harder and giving my best every single weekend.”

When approached by Sportscar365 about Gounon’s 2025 plans, a Mercedes-AMG spokesperson provided the following statement from the brand’s head of customer racing Stefan Wendl:

“Also in 2025 Jules is a Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver and we have released him for the Alpine program,” said Wendl.

“It is his personal wish and his sporting goal to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an LMDh car.

“We have evaluated his calendar and in the first step we made sure that he is available for Mercedes-AMG for the most important races from our point of view.

“For sure this is an ongoing process during the whole season, but we are in very good contact with Jules and Alpine in this regard.

“We will be delighted if he is able to achieve his dream while continuing to support us, as he has done in the past.”

Last year, Gounon tackled a full Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS campaign, racing in both Sprint and Endurance Cup, competed in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, NLS and the FIA GT World Cup and made one-off appearances in DTM and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

His Alpine reserve driver commitments in 2024 already unexpectedly forced him to miss two Fanatec GT Asia rounds, as he was called up to stand in for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg at Imola and Spa.

“Bruno [Famin] and Stefan Wendl are in contact and they are also talking about the programs and so on together, so that’s a great link between the two of them,” said Gounon.

“Obviously Alpine is also working now with the Mercedes F1 engine, so it’s a great link between the two brands.

“Obviously it has to [come] from both sides to accept to make some compromises.

“Once again, I am very thankful from Alpine side, Bruno Famin, Nico Lapierre, for making the effort and on the AMG side of Chris Sagemueller and Stefan Wendl to really allow me to be doing this.”

Gounon reiterated his gratitude for getting the opportunity to join Alpine’s full-time roster of drivers, something that will allow him to follow in the footsteps of his father Jean-Marc and compete in the top class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“You always have expectations,” said Gounon.

“If you don’t dream big, you don’t achieve anything. But for me as a driver, I never did real single-seaters.

“Let’s say I did one year of Formula 4, I never experienced downforce in my life, I never did prototypes, so the chances were quite small for me to get an Hypercar drive.

“But I think once again Bruno, Philippe Sinault and Nico Lapierre at that time always had an eye on me. They gave me a chance to test a prototype which went very well.

“The rest is just history, step by step. I really hope we will have a good year together and hopefully achieve big things.”