Alpine driver Ferdinand Habsburg: “I’m leaving a family”

Alpine almost managed to secure a victory in their farewell race at Monza, but Martins and Gounon were narrowly beaten by the Cadillac driven by Bamber, Bourdais and Aitken. An accident involving the Frenchman, who was running in fifth place, shortly after the halfway mark at the Parabolica prevented the second A424 driven by Habsburg and Milesi from scoring points. For the Austrian, three years as an ‘Alpinist’ are coming to an end. With a touch of sadness? “Yes, because of the people in the team with whom I’ve formed friendships over the years. And because it’s a shame about this team, especially now that the sporting resurgence was becoming clear. But it’s always the case that chapters end and new ones begin. I don’t dwell on it too much. Last weekend we were in Italy; the food was good, and everyone was in a positive frame of mind somehow, despite the situation,” explained the 29-year-old, who had his mother (who had supported him enormously throughout his career) as a guest in Monza.

Ferdinand went on to sum up: “I used to complain so much about all sorts of things. At the start, I was an outsider in the team because for a long time I was the only one who didn’t speak French. But it was great how they brought me into the fold and supported me. 2025 was so difficult, including at Le Mans, then came the win at Fuji. This year, Le Mans was much better. We had fun this year too.”

The chances of driving a hypercar in 2027 have dwindled. Yet Habsburg remains confident and has a Plan B: “I’ll definitely be driving in LMP2 in 2027, but the aim is still to drive a hypercar for a manufacturer. My Alpine contract runs until the end of the year. Next season, I’ll be competing in the seven IMSA races in LMP2 with a different team to this year (presumably Pratt Miller instead of Era, ed.). If I can’t stay in the WEC, I’ll probably compete in the ELMS with a team that has a starting place at Le Mans. But I’m still holding out hope for a hypercar seat. And over the winter, there’s the Asian Le Mans Series with the Felbermayrs,” added Ferdinand.