Philippe Sinault (Alpine) : “The n°35 is rewarded by the podium of the n°36”

Philippe, when we spoke last night (Saturday), we never imagined for a single moment that we would find one of your cars on the podium of the race...

Quite honestly, no. The point was to keep up the good momentum seen since São Paulo and especially in Austin. That is the case.

At the beginning of the weekend, you didn't even want to hear about a podium. How do you feel after such a performance?

It's unexpected. We knew we had a good pace after Free Practice, but it would have been a lack of humility (to announce a podium objective) with the level of performance demonstrated by all the competitors. It's incredible, everyone is capable of achieving a good result today. We were tenacious, we avoided making mistakes as much as possible. Above all, we didn't give up. In terms of strategy, we performed flawlessly.

The #35 held the podium for much of the final hour and, with 22 minutes to go, disaster struck: drive-through! Did the team think that a podium had flown away at that precise moment?

We had made a small bet with the #36 by keeping two new tires for the end of the race to allow it to increase the pace to try to get closer. It was an emotional rollercoaster. The #35 is rewarded with the #36 podium.

Far be it from me to single out a driver's performance, but what did you think of that of Mick Schumacher ?

The difficulty of our exercise, particularly in Endurance, is to highlight drivers. That's not the goal. Mick has had an incredible level and speed from the start. There, we asked him to go into battle, as he knows how to do, he did a great stint. Given the smile on his face when he got out of the car, I have the impression that he had a great time. We hope more than anything that he stays in Endurance with us (next year. Editor's note).

Finally, what does this first podium of the A424 represent?

It's so good for the guys! It's been tough for a year and a half, since the 24 Hours of Le Mans also. It's nice that they are rewarded.

Interview by Valentin Glo, in Fuji

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