French racing outfit Alpine has confirmed that Mick Schumacher will be joining its hunt for an FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) title, confirming its six-driver lineup for the 2024 season.
Former F1 racer, Mick Schumacher, will be joining the likes of Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Charles Milesi, Paul-Loup Chatin and Ferdinand Habsburg for Alpine’s two-car lineup for its 2024 debut in the world of endurance racing.
After two seasons with the Haas F1 team through 2021-22, Schumacher moved to Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team as a reserve driver for the ‘23 season and, by the look of the move, is keen to get back into the pilot’s set for next year’s World Endurance Championship season.
Schumacher had the opportunity to drive a prototype version of Alpine’s A424, with the team spotted giving its LMDh Hypercar category racer a number of shakedowns throughout this year, including a 1500km blitz in Spain with Nicolas Lapierre and Mattheiu Vaxiviere at the helm.
The racing team has pulled no punches, stating that the outright goal of its inaugural WEC season would be to capture one of the flagship races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the 24 Hours of Daytona.
As we’ve reported, the Alpine A424 measures in at 5000mm long, 1988mm wide and has a wheelbase measuring 3148mm, with power supplied by a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 with a 50kW hybrid system bringing combined outputs to 500kW.
Alpine says that it will be revealing its crews and the A424’s official livery at a launch event in early February ahead of the WEC’s season opener in Doha, Qatar in March.
“We are absolutely delighted to have these six drivers and we hope they will all bring their own experience and qualities to the project, for example Charles with his youth, Nicols with his experience in Endurance to mentor the younger drivers, and also Mick, with his experience gained at the highest level,” says Alpine’s VP of Motorsports, Bruno Famin.
“It might be his first foray into Endurance, but his enthusiasm for the project and his will to join us are palpable – I’m sure he will be a real asset,” Famin added.
“I sorely missed racing this year; it’s what I’ve loved to do since I was a kid, and it was sometimes difficult to watch the other drives take to the track,” says Schumacher.
“Endurance racing is a new challenge for me, and I’m sure we will shrae great moments together next year with Alpine,” he added.
“A new chapter is beginning for me with Alpine in the FIA WEC hypercar category… the car is impressive and I can’t wait to get started,” Schumacher concluded.
