Less than three weeks after the season opener in Italy, Alpine Endurance Team travelled to Belgium for round two of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Right from the first practice sessions, the Alpine A424s were at the sharp end of the field and the #36 car even set the fastest time in FP2. In qualifying, Charles Milesi (#35) finished first, and Jules Gounon (136) third. Both drivers continued their hard work in the most closely contested Hyperpole in the championship's history.
Charles Milesi secured third place, just 0.078s off pole position, while his team-mate completed Alpine A424's best-ever qualifying result by joining him on the second row.
On Saturday, Ferdinand Habsburg (#35) and Frédéric Makowiecki (#36) started the race on Michelin medium tyres. Both held position before the first safety car. At the restart, Ferdinand Habsburg overtook the #94 Peugeot, then gradually closed the gap on the #12 Cadillac race leader amidst increasingly heavy traffic.
Frédéric Makowiecki stayed in contact with the frontrunners whilst some rivals opted for early pit stops.
After a solid double stint, Ferdinand Habsburg and Frédéric Makowiecki handed over to António Félix da Costa and Victor Martins. The Portuguese driver continued the fight with the #12 Cadillac, whilst the Frenchman battled with the #94 Peugeot, the #51 Ferrari, and the #20 BMW. As strategies began to diverge, António Félix da Costa took advantage of a clear track to build a lead of nearly twenty seconds before handing over to Charles Milesi. Meanwhile, Victor Martins handed over to Jules Gounon to keep the #36 in contention.
The race took a decisive turn during a safety car period, bunching up the field. The French team made a lightning-quick pit stop to try to optimise the #35's strategy. Obstructed by a backmarker at the restart, Charles Milesi ceded positions to the #15 BMW and #50 Ferrari. Meanwhile, Jules Gounon had to complete an energy-savvy drive to avoid an extra pit stop.
Still in the top ten as the final hour approached, Alpine put Victor Martins back in the #36 car but was caught out again by the poor timing of a virtual safety car, whilst António Félix da Costa was back behind the wheel of car #35, before two safety car periods reduced the final sprint to twenty-four minutes. Fifth at the restart, the Portuguese driver was caught by cold tyres out at the top of the Raidillon. Thanks to a remarkable intervention, the mechanics replaced the left-rear calliper link, the front bodywork, and the rear block in just three minutes, allowing the #35 A424 to finish the race. Meanwhile, Victor Martins launched his final attacks in the hope of catching the #8 Toyota off guard.
At the end of this increasingly intense race, the Alpine A424s eventually finished just outside the top ten. Despite the frustration of securing just a single point in the manufacturers' championship, the team leaves Belgium with some extremely encouraging signals ahead of its next challenge: the 24 Hours of Le Mans (5ā14 June).
#35 crew
António Félix da Costa
āIt's a disappointing end to what had been a promising weekend. We were not the fastest car out there, but we executed a good, solid race, battling in the top five right up until the last thirty minutes. Unfortunately, I made a mistake on cold tyres at the last restart. I want to apologise to the whole Alpine Endurance Team, who work tirelessly day and night to give us a competitive machine. Today, the responsibility lies entirely with me. I'm sorry, and let's take the positives and look forward to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.ā
Charles Milesi
āIt wasn't an easy race. The first four hours went quite well, but then we were looking a bit less strong than our rivals. Some things didn't go our way at the end, like our thermal strategy. We've had ups and downs this weekend, but there are also genuinely good things to take away. We know what we have to work on to prepare as well as possible for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.ā
Ferdinand Habsburg
āI think we really deserved a better result given our strong performance this weekend. We had such a very good first half of the race, consistently in the lead group and keeping a solid pace. Everything seemed perfect until the race became more chaotic, and we kept getting caught in tricky situations. It's frustrating, but when you are on the back foot, you have to take more risks to fight your way back. Still, there were many positives to take from this weekend.ā
#36 crew
Frédéric Makowiecki
āIt was a tough race. We showed some great performance throughout the weekend. We worked quite well as a team, and we can be proud of the progress we've made since Imola. Unfortunately, things just never went our way during the race. Endurance racing is sometimes like that, but it's important to focus on the positives. We need to keep working in the right direction, as I'm convinced it will pay off for a positive Le Mans.ā
Jules Gounon
āIt was a very difficult one. We got unlucky with several virtual safety car periods, which clearly affected our final result. We now need to review exactly what we could have done better. Still, I'd like to thank everyone in the team for their hard work throughout the week. We'll learn from this race and come back stronger at Le Mans.ā
Victor Martins
āWe executed our communication, strategy and execution quite well, managing to control everything we could. However, we were unlucky with two virtual safety car periods that came at the wrong time for us. On both occasions, it undermined our chances of getting back into the race just when we thought we could make up ground. That's racing, and we'll analyse it all so we can bounce back at Le Mans.ā
Management
Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team
āWe are obviously disappointed to finish in these positions, especially after our strong qualifying performance. We expected a better outcome given our pace this weekend. However, several minor mistakes at key moments proved costly, preventing us from challenging for the lead as the field closed up near the end. It's frustrating, but this race also highlights exactly where we must improve. We now have less than a month to prepare as best as possible our goal this season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.ā
Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
āIt's a disappointing outcome, as our efforts throughout the weekend went unrewarded. We were fighting for a podium finish, or potentially better, with two hours remaining. Both cars were capable of finishing in the top five, which was a realistic goal based on our performance. The safety car significantly hurt the #35's prospects, and we lost two positions when a backmarker delayed us during the restart. This left us vulnerable in the field after previously managing our race precisely. António's incident and the resulting damage ultimately destroyed our chances. The #36 faced a more challenging race. The first virtual safety car, which began while we were pitting, was especially costly. We lost positions, and it became extremely difficult to regain ground in such a tight field. Although frustrating, there are many positives to acknowledge, especially our pace and competitiveness. We now need to regroup for the season's most important race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We'll start our preparations next week with testing at Circuit Paul Ricard.ā
CLASSIFICATIONS
TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
1. BMW M Team WRT n°20
11. Alpine Endurance Team n°36
12. Alpine Endurance Team n°35
Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship
1. Frijns / Rast ā 35 points
10. Da Costa / Habsburg / Milesi ā 12 points
18. Gounon / Makowiecki / Martins ā 0 points
FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturer's Championship
1. BMW ā 59 points
5. Alpine ā 14 points
