Lone Star Le Mans qualifying from the garage Alpine

This is the first highlight of the weekend, the first confrontation between the different manufacturers involved. No more question of different fuel quantities, no more question of testing different tire strategies. The drivers must put in the best possible performance, with the fastest cars of the entire weekend. Inevitably, in these conditions, there is always a special smell when putting on the helmet allowing access to radio communications, and taking a seat at the back of the garage. Alpine. No. 36 is in front of us, No. 35 is on the right.

These are the communications of theAlpine A424 n°36 of Mick Schumacher that we can listen to. Once the two blue machines are pushed into the pit lane, the countdown begins, before the announcement allows the German driver to join the line at the end of the pit lane. Charles Milesi will follow him a few minutes later, the two Alpine not taking to the track at the same time, thus avoiding as much as possible being able to hinder each other. It is indeed important to maximize your position on the track during these qualifying laps, and this is the job of Schumacher and his engineer on the radio during the installation lap. The driver asks precisely the gaps separating him from the driver in front of him and the one behind him, in order to correctly gauge when to attack his fast lap.

A hitchhiking wasp

Suddenly, theAlpine #36 is shown with the left door open. One instantly thinks of a mechanical problem, but no word on the radio. We later learn that Schumacher was actually trying to get a wasp out of his cabin, which had decided that a Hypercar developing nearly 700 horsepower was a perfectly suitable place. "The door must be closed", the message is clear, no stress, the former driver of Formula 1 executes and sets off again to attack the clock. Only one Ferrari reckless action will break the calm that reigns, leading the 25-year-old driver to ask what Robert Kubica was doing behind the wheel, obstructing him.

As the checkered flag passed, Schumacher was told that he was in thirteenth place, not enough to qualify for Hyperpole. On the other side of the garage, there was applause when Charles Milesi crossed the finish line and got his ticket for the second part of qualifying. The discussions on the #36 side consisted mainly of reminding them of the various rules in force. The preparation had been carried out seriously, but that did not prevent regular reminders. The team on the left in the garage would become the first supporters of their colleagues on the right, when Milesi took to the track for the ten minutes of Hyperpole.

Second row

When'Alpine #35 takes the best time of the session, no outpouring of joy. We know that the following ones are likely to be faster, even if the Frenchman's 1'50″751 could prove competitive. When the other cars cross the line and do not improve on the blue car, we begin to glimpse the possibility of a very good result. Antonio Giovinazzi will momentarily dampen the hopes of the French clan, but with two minutes to go, a first row still seems possible. We then see the mechanics with their eyes glued to the various screens in the box, concentrated, even if some parasitic movements betray the importance of the moment. The #83 Ferrari and the #2 Cadillac will also come in before the end of the session but no matter, Alpine takes his best qualifying position of the season, the applause resumes, on both sides of the garage.

Milesi returns to the pits and takes care to greet each of the mechanics present in the garage, on both cars. He will be imitated by Bruno Famin and Philippe Sinault. No triumphalism, the race is the real judge of the peace of the weekend, but it is undeniable that the concentration of the beginning of the session has given way to a scent of satisfaction in front of the work accomplished. It is time to return the helmet and leave the garage, where the work truly never stops until the start of Lone Star Le Mans, Sunday at 20 p.m. French time…

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