Bruno Famin (Alpine): “It feels good to end the season like this”

Congratulations on this great victory here in Fuji, I imagine it's a lot of emotions for you and for the whole team.

It's a real satisfaction, a reward for all the work accomplished since the beginning of the program. Remember, it's not that long ago: we're only just finishing our second season. When you see the level of the competitors, I think it's already a great achievement to have secured a victory before the end of this second year.

It is a great satisfaction for all the work carried out, whether in Bourges, in Viruses or on the track. It feels good to end the season like this.

Was the Safety Car a turning point?

Yes. Actually, it was mainly a free pit stop that we were able to benefit from—I don't remember if it was under the safety car or under the VSC. It allowed us to get back into the game. Then, we seized every opportunity to fight for victory in the second part of the race.

We could see we were well positioned in the top three. We had to bet on a complicated scenario at the end of the race, and it came true: there were a lot of cautions, three full course yellows in the last two hours. This allowed us to take first place thanks to a fairly aggressive tire strategy, and then hold on to it.

Great work from the drivers—Charles (Milesi), of course, who finished the job—but also from the engineers, strategists, and mechanics, who took care of the preparation and the stops. A great team effort.

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Did you fear a return of the Peugeot or Porsche in the last hour?

Yes, of course. We had taken the gamble of only changing two tires, while they had changed all four. With such a small gap, there was a real risk that they would come back, and we were not at all confident.

But Charles, after two or three laps, managed to maintain the gap. We had the advantage in the warm-up thanks to our two saved tires. He held on, and as the stint progressed, the gap between four new tires and two new tires narrowed. But yes, it was a real fear to see the Peugeot or the Porsche come back. In the end, the Peugeot also helped us a little by holding off the Porsche at the end. Everything went well.

Interview by Valentin Glo, in Fuji (Japan)