Schumacher returns to the podium at Fuji with Alpine: “What a joy”

Alpine on the podium

The 6 Hours of Fuji has brought back the joy of the podium to Mick Schumacherwho together with his crewmates Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere brought theAlpine #36 in third position on the occasion of the penultimate round of the Endurance World Championship in Japan. A challenge with Norman Nato, driver at the wheel of the Porsche 963 of Hertz Team Jota #17, which ended in favor of the German son of art, who gave a top-3 placement never achieved so far by the French manufacturer this season.

Back in the top three

Taking into account all the categories he has participated in throughout his career, Schumacher also returned to the podium for the first time since 2020, the year in which he became Formula 2 champion by winning the Sprint Race in Sochi: “I had a lot of fun in the final stages – commented the 25-year-old, Mercedes’ third driver in F1 – we had some really close battles and I’m getting more confident about how to fight in the WEC. I didn’t expect it to be so difficult, but the cars are quite robust and it feels like we’re back in the old days of karting. It was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the podium. I didn’t know what to do anymore, it’s been a long time, but I’m really happy.”

The advantages in the end

Speaking about the battle that took place in the final stages of the race with the Jota Porsche of Norman Nato, Schumacher acknowledged the advantages he could enjoy over the French driver, on the track with used tyres compared to the new ones of the German: “We had two new tires on the left sideso I knew I had a tyre advantage and it was a matter of time before I got into the right spot – he added – in the end I was a bit afraid of the Peugeot (#93, came in fourth place)who had a good pace in the last stint with four new tyres, but we managed it well. The team did a great job and I think we can be very satisfied”.

Another Alpine candidate for the podium

Looking at Alpine, Schumacher finally admitted that the pace of the #36 was not the same as its sister #35a candidate for 3rd place if it had not been for the contact during the overtaking phase with an LMGT3 car that occurred in the last hour of the race. A mistake made by Charles Milesi which cost a drive-through penalty: “In my opinion we started the weekend with the worst car we’ve had this year – he concluded – we were not confident. The #35 seemed to be going a little betterwhile the #36 struggled a bit more for some reason, and you could see it in the pace. There’s still some work to do at home to see if there’s something different.”