Alpine 'struggling to understand' its issues after Le Mans practice

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2 days ago

After a very promising test day, Wednesday turned out to be a mixed bag for Alpine. Reliability is no longer a concern at the French outfit and both A424s secured their spots in the Hyperpole 1 session after the first round of qualifying. However, behind the scenes, some head-scratching is going on.
When the LMDh prototype hit the track again early Wednesday afternoon, both driver crews were surprised not to find the same performance level they had shown just three days earlier.
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"It wasn't smooth," Frédéric Makowiecki, teammate to Mick Schumacher and Jules Gounon in the #36, told Motorsport.com.
"There are a few things we're struggling to understand. Is it the temperature? Is it the evolution of the track? We're not where we thought – and should – be. It's up to us to analyse the situation, but time is short."
Alpine did make "some changes" to the car's setup, but the team clearly expected a different outcome from those adjustments.
Alpine can't afford any mistakes if it hopes for a good result at Le Mans
Alpine can't afford any mistakes if it hopes for a good result at Le Mans
"We weren't too happy with some behaviours, especially when it came to bumps," Makowiecki added.
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"We tried to improve that, and strangely, it's not giving us the results we expected, even though it's something that had worked previously in different contexts. We need to dive into the data, dig deeper, and figure out if maybe the conditions have thrown us off in how we're interpreting things."
This second appearance at Le Mans with the A424 is a crucial one for the French team, which is led in endurance by Philippe Sinault. While Alpine now has a far better understanding of its car, it's clear the prototype hasn't yet revealed all its secrets in such specific conditions.
Asked by Motorsport.com what the team had learned over the past year, Sinault listed several layers of progress: "It's everything — the setup, tyre knowledge, software management, all the sensors, the traction control...
'We've done a lot of simulations and adapted the baseline package with the data we had.'
No room for error
#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon
#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Mick Schumacher, Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon
Between free practice and the evolved Hyperpole format, there's little to be learned outside of raw single-lap pace until race day. During test day, Alpine had made a strong impression on long runs - but doubt began to creep in again on Wednesday.
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"It's been tricky because from the start of the week, a lot of teams have been focused on qualifying, which now carries a bit more weight,' Makowiecki said when asked about the expected hierarchy. 'So, it's hard to judge.
"We clearly had strong long runs during Test Day, and now we don't. Overall, we're missing a bit of performance, so we need to get back to what we know we can do."
With Thursday marking the final opportunity to refine their setup, the focus now turns fully to race preparation – and the team already knows what will make the difference.
"It'll be the team that makes the fewest mistakes that comes out on top," said Sinault.
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"There are so many chances to slip up — even more so these past two years with the level of competition and the gaps involved. The smallest mistake, a penalty, and it can completely change the course of the race.
'We can't afford errors — and above all, we must stay on the lead lap."
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