Porsche test for Vettel raises Le Mans 24 Hours speculation
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel got his first proper taste of a sports-prototype aboard one of the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad’s 963 LMDH racers this week. What is not clear, however, is whether the try-out at Motorland Aragon has put him in contention for one of the vacant seats in the additional third car that the team will field in the Le Mans 24 Hours World Endurance Championship round in June.
The test was organised at Vettel’s request, Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach revealed. It follows extensive negotiations last year between Vettel, who retired from F1 at the end of 2022, and the
Jota customer Porsche team about joining its expanded Hypercar class assault this season.
“We’re delighted that Sebastian is interested in our Porsche 963,” said Laudenbach. “There was no question for us that we’d be thrilled to support his request for an opportunity to test and provide him with extensive preparation and plenty of time to drive our hybrid prototype. There’s no doubt we’ll learn a lot from his valuable feedback.”
Vettel revealed an interest in sportscar racing ahead of the Motorland test, which started on Monday. “I’ve always followed other racing series and my curiosity for endurance events encouraged me to just give it a shot,” said the 36-year-old.
Vettel’s run in Spain as part of a 36-hour pre-le Mans endurance simulation was preceded by some familiarisation laps at Porsche’s Weissach test facility in mid-march, as well what was described as “extensive time in the simulator”. But prior to the test he remained coy about what the next step might be: “This will be a new experience for me. We will then see what happens next in this respect – at the moment there are no further plans for the future.”
PPM has so far named only Mathieu Jaminet in the extra 963 it will field at Le Mans for the second year in a row. Team boss Jonathan Diuguid stated at the Qatar WEC opener that only the other three drivers from its IMSA Sportscar Championship squad –
Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron – were in contention for the remaining seats. Roger Penske, meanwhile, ruled out the prospect of Josef Newgarden, who was part of the winning line-up at the Daytona 24 Hours, joining the roster. “We don’t want to run a driving school,” he said.