could be in the running for a drive on a Porsche factory team before the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year after a surprising test at Daytona last week.
Although Porsche Penske Motorsport has already announced the driver duos for its two official 963 LMDh cars inside Endurance World Cup from 2025, There will be more seats available for their lineup at Le Mans if they decide to field an additional car.
Sebastian Vettelquadruple world champion Formula 1, has been repeatedly linked with the possibility of being with Porsche at Le Mans after testing earlier this year. But last weekend, Wehrlein, official driver of the brand and Formula E champion, made an unexpected visit to the Daytona International Speedway, driving the 963 of JDC-Miller, a customer team, during the official test of the IMSA.
This could indicate that Wehrlein, not Vettel, could be the Germans' chosen one.. Last month, Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said: “We have a better chance of running three cars” at Le Mans 2025 after securing an additional entry by winning the GTP title in IMSA. Porsche currently has eight prototype drivers on its World Championship and U.S. Championship squad for the upcoming campaign, up from 10 this year. With three drivers required in each car, this leaves a vacancy if three units want to be put on track.
Urs Kuratle, project manager at LMDh, admitted that an additional driver would be needed if Porsche goes ahead with its third car project. He did not rule out Vettel being a contender for the seat and even confirmed having conversations with him. But while the 37-year-old driver has barely competed since leaving F1 with Aston Martin At the end of 2022, Wehrlein is currently in his prime.
Unlike Vettel, the 30-year-old is already a Porsche factory driver in the Formula E and tested the car while it was still in development in 2022. In fact, was in contention for a full WEC season when Porsche returns to the premier class in 2023. The German manufacturer ended up signing Frédéric Makowiecki to complete their range in the Hypercar class.
Makowiecki, André Lotterer And Daniel Cameron were excluded for 2025, while Julien Andlauer received a factory contract after one season of racing for the customer team Proton competition.
Wehrlein, without conflicts with Formula E
What will become of Wehrlein's aspirations remains unclear, but participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona at the wheel of the JDC-Miller Porsche would be obvious after the test. There is no conflict between the Formula E calendar and the IMSA season openerscheduled for January 27 and 28 with the 24 Hours of Daytona, including the 'Roar', the previous event.
Wehrlein also has no commitment in the electric championship which coincides with the Le Mans test day, which will take place on June 8, nor with the race weekend itself, from June 11 to 15.. Furthermore, it would also be possible for him to start the classic IMSA event at Sebring (March 15), which would serve as preparation for Sarthe.
With possible race appearances after last week's testing, Wehrlein could continue learning to drive the Porsche 963 and then support the factory team at Le Mans: the Formula E calendar would not stand in the way of his debut in Sarthe. But that would mean the door would be closed for Vettel.
