Pascal Wehrlein could possibly be within the running for a Porsche factory drive at next yr's 24 Hours of Le Mans after a surprise performance in last week's Daytona test.
While Porsche Penske Motorsport has already announced the motive force pairings for its two factory 963 LMDh cars competing within the 2025 World Endurance Championship, there will likely be one unoccupied available in Porsche Penske Motorsport's lineup should the corporate decide to enter an extra entry.
Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has been repeatedly linked with a 3rd Porsche start at Le Mans after testing the automobile earlier this yr.
But this past weekend, Porsche factory driver and former Formula E champion Wehrlein made a surprise visit to the Daytona International Speedway, behind the wheel of customer JDC-Miller's Porsche 963 during an official IMSA-approved test.
This may indicate that Wehrlein, and never fellow German Vettel, could possibly be allowed to start out for Porsche within the 93rd edition of Le Mans.
Last month, Porsche's head of motorsport, Thomas Laudenbach, said it was “more likely that we will start at Le Mans next year with three cars” after securing an additional spot on the WEC premier event by winning the GTP title within the IMSA championship SportsCar Championship.
Porsche currently has eight prototype drivers in its factory lineup in WEC and IMSA for the 2025 season, up from 10 this yr. Since three drivers are needed in each automobile, there may be one open spot within the lineup for a three-car attack.
Urs Kuratle, project driver at LMDh, admitted that if Porsche followed through with its plan to field a 3rd automobile, an extra driver can be needed.
He didn’t rule out that Vettel can be a contender for the seat and even confirmed that he had held talks with him. However, while the 37-year-old has mainly done demonstration runs since leaving F1 for Aston Martin at the top of 2022, Wehrlein is currently at the height of his profession.
#85: JDC-Miller MotorSports, Porsche 963, GTP: Tijmen van der Helm, Oliver Gray, Gianmaria Bruni, Pascal Wehrlein, Chris Miller
Photo: IMSA
Unlike Vettel, the 30-year-old is in fact already a Porsche works driver in FE and tested the automobile in 2022, while it remains to be in its development phase.
In fact, Wehrlein was a contender for a full season within the WEC once Porsche returns to the highest echelon of sports automobile racing in 2023. The German manufacturer has finally signed Frederic Makowiecki to finish its lineup of races within the Hypercar class.
Makowiecki, Andre Lotterer and Dane Cameron have been faraway from the Porsche LMDh lineup for 2025, with Julien Andlauer awarded a factory contract after a season spent racing for the Proton Competition team customer within the WEC.
No conflicts with Formula E
It's unclear what is going to occur next for Wehrlein's Hypercar ambitions, but participation within the 24 Hours of Daytona in a JDC-Miller Porsche will likely be a given after testing.
There is not any conflict between the Formula E calendar and the IMSA season opener scheduled for January 27-28 and the “Roar Before The 24” test preceding the enduro.
Wehrlein also has no conflicting obligations to Formula E on the Le Mans test day on June 8, or at Le Mans itself, which can happen from June 11-15.
In addition, it will even be possible to start out within the IMSA classic in Sebring (March 15), which can function preparation for the blue ribbon round of the WEC.
With potential race appearances following last week's testing, Wehrlein will have the ability to proceed learning to drive the Porsche 963 after which support the works team at Le Mans – with the FE schedule not getting in the best way of his Le Sarthe debut. However, this may mean that the door to the factory team within the 24-hour enduro will likely be closed for his compatriot Vettel.
