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Alpine Benches Da Costa and Makowiecki as Paddock Rumours Swirl Over WEC Future
Alpine will field two-driver crews at Fuji after benching Antonio Felix da Costa and Frederic Makowiecki, amid unconfirmed paddock reports of an impending exit from the WEC.
By Sanne Vermeer - 2026-09-23T01:45:14.000Z - 3 min read
Tuesday evening brought an unexpected disruption to Alpine’s World Endurance Championship campaign, with the French marque confirming that Antonio Felix da Costa and Frederic Makowiecki have been dropped from its line-up for this weekend’s sixth round of the season at Fuji Speedway. Rather than maintaining its established three-driver rotations, the Renault-owned manufacturer will tackle the Japanese fixture with two-driver crews in each of its A424 Hypercars. Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will share the No. 35 car, while Jules Gounon and Victor Martins are paired in the sister No. 36 entry.
While Alpine’s official announcement addressed only the upcoming race in Japan, paddock developments suggest a far more permanent split. According to reporting by Sportscar365, neither Da Costa nor Makowiecki is expected to return to the cockpit for the final two European rounds of the season at Barcelona and Monza. That unconfirmed reporting points to an abrupt end to both drivers’ tenures with the squad, sidelining two of the programme’s most experienced figures before the 2026 championship reaches its conclusion.
Behind the sudden personnel shift lies an increasingly uncertain future for the entire endurance programme. Sportscar365 reports that the Renault Group is preparing to withdraw the Alpine brand from the WEC at the end of the current season. In recent months, Chinese automotive group Geely has been heavily linked with a buyout of the Philippe Sinault-led Signatech operation that manages Alpine’s factory effort. However, that prospective takeover remains unconfirmed, with no formal agreement announced as negotiations reportedly face complications tied to broader road car production talks between Geely and Renault.
The timing of Da Costa’s benching also intersects with active movement across the Hypercar driver market. The Portuguese racer has been strongly linked in paddock speculation to a move to Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA for next season. Sidelining him for the final three rounds of 2026 appears to pre-empt that rumoured switch, removing a driver whose future was already understood to lie elsewhere while Alpine resolves its own operational trajectory.
From a purely competitive standpoint, the decision arrives at a bizarre juncture for the No. 35 crew. Only one race ago at Circuit of The Americas, Da Costa, Milesi and Habsburg delivered Alpine’s strongest result of the 2026 campaign, securing third place on the podium. That result lifted Alpine to fifth in the manufacturers’ standings after five rounds, demonstrating that the package remained capable of fighting at the sharp end despite persistent off-track uncertainty.
Returning to Fuji also carries symbolic weight for the French outfit, as the circuit was the scene of Alpine’s breakthrough WEC triumph with the A424 twelve months ago. That maiden victory was achieved by Habsburg, Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin, who has since departed for Genesis Magma Racing. Now, Habsburg and Milesi must attempt to replicate that form as a two-man crew, shouldering increased physical demand across the race distance while their former co-driver watches from the sidelines.
Until Alpine or Renault publicly clarifies its post-2026 intentions, the team heads into Japan enveloped by unresolved questions. Running truncated crews at Fuji provides a temporary sporting solution, but it does little to dispel unverified paddock claims regarding impending corporate exits and ownership transfers. For now, the benching of Da Costa and Makowiecki stands as the clearest visible signal yet of deeper unrest within the French manufacturer’s endurance programme.