Makowiecki Signs With Alpine; Gounon Joins Full-Time Roster

Fred Makowiecki will join Alpine’s FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar lineup for the 2025 season, while Jules Gounon has been promoted to a full-time race seat after a year of reserve driver duties.

The two drivers join Alpine’s six-man roster for its second year of LMDh competition, which also features the returning Charles Milesi, Mick Schumacher, Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul-Loup Chatin.

Milesi and Chatin had already been confirmed as part of WEC’s provisional full-season entry list released last week.

“It is with great pleasure to announce the drivers who will defend Alpine’s colours in next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship,” said Bruno Famin, Alpine’s vice president of motorsports.

“We have selected talented drivers who are not only fast but also have an exemplary analytical capacity and mindset. We are well acquainted with Charles Milesi, Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mick Schumacher, all fully committed to the project.

“Our reserve driver, Jules Gounon, will become a full time driver after preparing for this role over the past year. As for Frédéric Makowiecki, his experience, feedback, and race craft will all be assets that will bolster our progress.

“Each brings a unique potential, with a single ambition: to improve the team and the A424 as much as possible.

“We have built a strong, close-knit group to build on the foundations of our first campaign, and the commitment of our drivers, coupled with their talent, will allow us to rise to the challenges that await us in the 2025 season.”

As previously reported by Sportscar365, Makowiecki joins Alpine after wrapping up an 11-year stint as a factory driver with Porsche that ended with a two-year tenure as part of its factory WEC Hypercar squad.

It marks the latest chapter in the Frenchman’s career, which also included stints with Aston Martin’s factory GTE-Pro effort and time racing for Nissan in SUPER GT.

“I am extremely proud as a French driver,” Makowiecki said.

“It’s something special to represent a French manufacturer in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the possibility of aiming for an overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, especially as Alpine has a vibrant motorsport history.

“I truly liked the team’s approach and development. Alpine improved and excelled in its first season against very tough competition.

“I’m joining humbly, but I want to contribute to the team significantly. Doing everything better than everyone else will be crucial if we are to get over the final hurdles, and I’m already looking forward to Qatar!”

Gounon, meanwhile, steps up to a full-season race seat after a year as a reserve driver in which he made a total of four race appearances: two at the start of the year to fill in for the injured Habsburg, and then two further starts at Fuji and Bahrain.

“I’m going into this season in a very positive frame of mind,” said Gounon.

“It will be my first full FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with Alpine Endurance Team, having been a reserve driver in 2024.

“I was able to contest four races, but I’m genuinely happy to become a full-time driver thanks to Alpine’s confidence.

“It’s a close-knit team. There is close collaboration among everyone and excellent understanding between all the drivers, which allows the whole team to work well and move forward together.”

Makowiecki and Gounon effectively replace Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, with the former moving to a new role as sporting director while the latter departs after a four-year stint that dates back to Alpine’s first Hypercar effort with the grandfathered A480 LMP1 car.

Schumacher, meanwhile, stays with the team for a second year after it was confirmed earlier on Thursday that he will exit his role as reserve driver with the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 operation.

The exact composition of Alpine’s driver pairing for next season will be confirmed at a later date, the team has stated.