Henri Dubois · Endurance-Korrespondent
What looks like a minor footnote on paper for the 6 Hours of Fuji is actually a strategic decision with significance for the entire racing week.
Alpine is running its A424 Hypercar prototype, car number 35, with only two drivers at the upcoming WEC race in Japan, the 6 Hours of Fuji. Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will share driving duties, while António Félix da Costa and Frédéric Makowiecki have been left out of this weekend's lineup. The French factory team is responding to regulations that allow flexibility for shorter WEC races and following a pattern already established this season by Cadillac and Aston Martin.
From Three to Two: Why the Regulations Allow It
The WEC regulations don't set a fixed number of drivers per car; instead, the requirement depends on race distance. For the long classics like the 24 Hours of Le Mans or 8 Hours of Bahrain, regulations mandate a three-driver lineup because the physical demands over a full day or night can't reasonably be handled by two drivers alone. For shorter six-hour races like Fuji, however, a two-driver lineup is permitted.
For a team, this means weighing longer stints per driver against a leaner driver roster for the given weekend. Running with two drivers instead of three spreads the race distance across fewer shoulders, resulting in longer individual stints and different pit-stop logistics, but also fewer driver changes and potentially less time lost in the box.
Milesi and Habsburg Take Over, Two Names Missing
Alpine is banking on Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg for Fuji, both drivers already integrated into the program this season. António Félix da Costa and Frédéric Makowiecki won't be part of the roster for this one weekend, as Alpine confirmed in its driver lineup announcement.
For the two remaining drivers, the switch likely means one thing above all: more drive time per pilot over the six hours, with less rotation in the pit. How this affects tire management and sustained pace over a double stint will only become clear once the race itself gets underway.
A Pattern Emerging in the Hypercar Class
Alpine isn't alone in taking this approach. Both Cadillac and Aston Martin have already fielded two-driver lineups this season for individual race weekends when distance allowed. That a third factory team is now joining this strategy suggests that leaner driver logistics for six-hour races is increasingly seen as a viable option rather than an exception.
For the Hypercar championship, where only the manufacturer as a brand counts since the 2026 regulation change and not individual teams, this personnel question likely carries no direct weight. What will matter more is how the switch affects pure race performance for car number 35 and whether this model becomes standard for Alpine's future six-hour weekends on the calendar.
