Lapierre’s New Role Part of Alpine “Plan” to Move Up Grid

Nicolas Lapierre says his new role as the Alpine FIA World Endurance Championship team’s sporting director is part of the French manufacturer’s plan to make a “big step forward” to take on the top teams in Hypercar next year.

The French veteran announced his decision to step down from active competition in early October, shortly after which he was confirmed to be taking up the newly-created sporting director role at Alpine underneath team principal Philippe Sinault.

Explaining what his new duties entail, Lapierre said that he hopes that taking on what he described as “new tasks” that were not previously being handled by anybody else will put Alpine in a stronger position to move up the grid in 2025.

“As sporting director, my first job is to take care of driver choice and contracts, and to have a view on who will be our next drivers,” he said.

“After this, it’s to make sure the drivers are performing as well as possible. I decide the strategy on the drivers, who takes part in which test, who does qualifying and who takes the start, and analyzing their performance.

“I will also be a bridge between the drivers and the technical side; because the cars are so complex nowadays, there can be a gap between engineers and drivers.

“We have seen the package we have is quite good, we have been quite competitive since Le Mans, and we want to make sure we have everything in order to make the next step, which will not be an easy one.

“Fighting against Porsche, Ferrari and Toyota will require a big step forward, but that’s what we are planning to do this winter and my new role is also part of this change.”

Decision to Step Down for Bahrain Made Before Fuji Race

Lapierre bowed out of WEC competition with a third-place finish in the 6 Hours of Fuji in September together with his teammates in the No. 36 Alpine, Mick Schumacher and Matthieu Vaxiviere, sitting out the Bahrain finale.

On why he didn’t race in Bahrain, the 40-year-old said it was partly because of a desire to learn more about his new role ahead of the 2025 season, and because Alpine reserve driver Jules Gounon was due to race as part of a deal done at the start of the year.

“At Fuji, together with Bruno [Famin, vice-president of Alpine Motorsport] and Philippe, we really defined what would be my role in the team, what my tasks and everything will be,” explained Lapierre.

“There were still a lot of new things for me and I didn’t feel comfortable going to Qatar, the first race, taking this job without having any feedback or any experience.

“We knew we also had to put Jules in the car for the last race as this was part of the deal, so for me it was obvious that we should keep with the drivers that are most likely going to race with us next year and I would get this experience.

“That was all decided before the race [at Fuji], and then we ended up getting a podium, so it was just perfect, like everything aligned. It was great to finish like this.”

Lapierre to Continue With Cool Racing Alongside Alpine Duties

Lapierre confirmed that his new Alpine WEC duties will not impact his team principal role at Cool Racing in the European Le Mans Series, which he has held since 2021.

“My plan is to continue with Cool Racing,” Lapierre said. “It’s like my baby, so it was important in my discussions [with Alpine] that I could continue with it. My time will be divided between the two programs.

“I will attend all the races and tests for Cool Racing, which is also good for Alpine because we see a lot of drivers coming through ELMS and it’s important to keep an eye on them and see who are the next generation of drivers.

“Hopefully my work in the ELMS will benefit Alpine and vice versa.”

However, Lapierre was eager to stress that Cool Racing’s ELMS squad will remain open to junior drivers from manufacturers outside of Alpine in future.

“This year we have worked with Peugeot with Malthe [Jakobsen], with Toyota with Ritomo [Miyata], and with Mercedes [with Lorenzo Fluxa], so I think it’s important for us to stay open on this side,” he said.

“Of course if Alpine wants us to develop a driver, I will be happy to do so, but otherwise I will try to remain neutral.”