The FIA WEC returned to the Circuit of the Americas for Lone Star Le Mans, round six of eight on the 2025 calendar.

 

 

Alpine Endurance Team began its programme on Friday in the heat of the Texan summer. After three free practice sessions punctuated by several red flag stoppages, the first drops of rain began to fall on Saturday morning. Conditions proved tricky for Charles Milesi and Mick Schumacher in qualifying. On medium tyres on a wet track, the Frenchman advanced to the Hyperpole and secured sixth place on the starting grid, while the German qualified twelfth.

 

 

On Sunday, the race started behind the safety car due to the rain. Ferdinand Habsburg (#35) and Frédéric Makowiecki (#36) gradually found their footing. The Frenchman briefly took the lead during a moment of confusion during a safety car change, but the race was red-flagged shortly afterwards to reposition the field.
The race resumed after more than forty minutes of interruption. After several laps behind the safety car, the action began in earnest, but the restart was short-lived. Following in the wake of the #007 Aston Martin, Frédéric Makowiecki aquaplaned and returned to the pits. The team's quick reaction limited the damage to one lost lap.

 

 

Ferdinand Habsburg slipped out of the top ten at the restart in increasingly treacherous conditions. Les Bleus then took advantage of a virtual safety car shortly after the halfway point to put Paul-Loup Chatin (#35) and Jules Gounon (#36) behind the wheel. Despite their efforts, they were unable to make any headway.

 

 

Charles Milesi (#35) and Mick Schumacher (#36) took over during another neutralisation with two hours to go. In fourteenth and seventeenth place, the two drivers were racing in more favourable weather. More comfortable in drying conditions, the team saw Charles Milesi stay in the lead lap to finish just outside the top ten. Mick Schumacher also moved up the order to finish fifteenth.

 

 

This result ends a series of four consecutive races with at least one crew in the points, and Alpine Endurance Team is now eager to bounce back at the next round of the calendar: the 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan) from 26 to 28 September.

 


Crew #35



Ferdinand Habsburg
"We saw real potential in qualifying and hoped that the changing weather conditions would work in our advantage. Ultimately, it didn't help us. We must definitely find solutions to manage these types of situations better, because the gap to the fastest cars widened instead of narrowing, which is frustrating. That said, we still learned a great deal about how the car behaves in the rain, an area where we had virtually no experience until now. From that point of view, it's a good thing for the future."

 

 

Paul-Loup Chatin
"We are obviously disappointed. We showed good pace throughout free practice, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case in these challenging conditions. As soon as we tried to push a little harder, mistakes became virtually inevitable. We managed to stay on track, but driving was so tricky. It's all part of the learning process. We need to analyse and understand why we struggled so much compared to the others. It's a shame, because I felt confident about this weekend, but we're leaving empty-handed, and sometimes you have to accept it."

 

 

Charles Milesi
"The result is naturally disappointing given our starting position and performance in dry conditions. Unfortunately, it rained throughout the race. We knew we would struggle in these conditions, but it was extremely difficult this time. We always seemed to be out of sync with the frontrunners. We need to analyse and understand what went wrong, because there is clearly a lot of room for improvement. I hope we will have more stable conditions at Fuji, a track where we did quite well last year."

 


Crew #36

 

 

Frédéric Makowiecki
"Once the race was properly underway, we immediately understood that we were struggling in the wet conditions. The car was tricky to drive, as it was for many others, but I think we were struggling even more than our competitors. I want to apologise to the team for my mistake. It's not the kind of situation you want to find yourself in, but I lost the car without any real warning. The conclusion remains the same: we struggled as soon as there was a lot of water on the track. It's now up to us to understand why, because it could happen again later in the season or next year. We need to be strong in all conditions."

 

 

Jules Gounon
"I wouldn't say it was a frustrating race, but it's clear that we need to understand what happened and why we had so much aquaplaning. It was the same for everyone, but there are obviously solutions that must be found when you lose so much lap time. It was the first time we raced in the rain. We need to learn from this experience, analyse it, draw the right conclusions and come back stronger next time it rains."

 

 

Philippe Sinault, Team Principal Alpine Endurance Team
"Obviously, the prevailing feeling is disappointment. We put in a great week's work and were pleased to have regained a solid level of performance. Everything was looking pretty good, but then came the rain and threw a spanner in the works. With the tools at our disposal, we had anticipated a wet start to the race followed by dry conditions. In the end, it rained for nearly the entire race. The decision to start the race in such conditions was a bold one. It was difficult to predict such a change, and we started with a car that was optimised for dry conditions. We picked up speed when the track dried, but it was too late and not enough, so our drivers all had a hard time. We were spectators when our ambition was to be fully involved, given all the work we had put in throughout the week."

 

 

Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director Alpine Endurance Team
"It was a tremendously difficult race. The #36 had an incident quite early on that put us in a tough position. The mechanics did an excellent job repairing the damage, but we lost a lap, and it wasn't easy to hope for anything from there. We lacked a bit of luck and pace with the #35 car, especially when the track was wet. Things improved a little when it started to dry out, but not enough to compete at the front. We tried a few strategic approaches, but they didn't yield the desired results. We clearly suffered from a lack of grip and pace in the rain. We need to analyse what happened so we can come back stronger."



CLASSIFICATIONS


Lone Star Le Mans
1. Porsche Penske Motorsport n°6
11. Alpine Elf Endurance Team n°35
15. Alpine Elf Endurance Team n°36


Hypercar World Endurance Drivers Championship
1. Calado / Giovinazzi / Pier Guidi – 115 points
13. Gounon / Makowiecki / Schumacher – 36 points
23. Chatin / Habsburg / Milesi – 12 points


FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturer's Championship
1. Ferrari – 203 points
6. Alpine – 59 points