Alpine explains decision to drop Antonio Felix da Costa, Fred Makowiecki from Fuji WEC line-up

Alpine says it had been debating running two-driver crews in six-hour World Endurance Championship rounds for “a long time”, after rejigging its line-up for this weekend’s Fuji 6 Hours.

The French manufacturer caused a stir earlier this week when it announced that Antonio Felix da Costa and Fred Makowiecki will sit out the sixth round of the 2026 WEC, leaving two drivers in each of its two A424 LMDh prototypes.

While it’s not uncommon for manufacturers to opt for two-driver line-ups in Hypercar, with both Porsche and Aston Martin having used this strategy over the years, Alpine’s mid-season switch surprised many.

However, Alpine team principal Philippe Sinault has clarified that the move was not made on a whim, revealing that he had already been considering running two drivers per car to give his team greater strategic flexibility.

Sinault explained that Alpine decided to “test” the new line-up at Fuji after the WEC revamped its 2026 calendar in the wake of the war in West Asia, replacing the longer races in Qatar and Bahrain that would have required three drivers.

“For a long time, I’ve been thinking about having a driver line-up with two drivers for a six-hour race,” Sinault told Motorsport.com. 

“After the announcement of the end of the season with only six-hour races, we considered immediately to have two drivers for a six-hour race. We didn’t put it in place in Austin because of the hot temperature. We didn’t want to have any trouble with the physical reason for the driver, because it was not easy.

“But just after Austin, we decided for Fuji to test this option, because we are really convinced it’s the best one to perform.”

Sinault explained that the team internally made a decision to switch to two-driver line-ups for Fuji following the Lone Star Le Mans at Austin on 6 September.

“As you can imagine, it’s a lot of work to switch between three and two-driver strategies for engineers, mechanics and so on,” he said.

“So after Austin, we made the announcement internally about the decision, with the driver, with the mechanics, with the engineers, to be ready on time for the Fuji race.”

Da Costa posted an image on Instagram which indicated that he was about to board a flight to Japan before turning away from the airport.

Asked when he was told he wouldn’t be racing at Fuji, Sinault said: At the same time as the engineers and mechanics.”

Sinault admitted that da Costa and Makowiecki were “disappointed” when they heard the news from Alpine. He said it wasn’t easy to decide which two of its six drivers will be benched from Fuji.

“It’s always a difficult decision when we talk about the choice regarding drivers. Because we have a personal and human aspect. 

“But it’s our choice and we have to be clear in our mind when we take this type of decision.”

No decision on Barcelona and Monza

Following the Japan round, the WEC will head back to Europe for the final two races in Barcelona and Monza.

Sinault left the door open for da Costa and Makowiecki returning to the team and seeing out the season.

“To be clear, Antonio and Fred are still part of the team. First, it’s really important to say that. Maybe in Barcelona and Monza, the line-up will be different.

“And Antonio is always welcome if he wants to come with us in Japan. He did a good job. He’s a good driver. He performed so well in those teams. So, he’s part of the team.”

Pressed further on when the team will make a call on the Barcelona driver line-up, he said: “First, we will decide between the two options. If we consider the option with two drivers or not. After that, we will decide because the timing between the two races is really short.”

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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