Sebastian Vettel is likely to continue his racing career in the World Endurance Championship. This comes after Jota Sport was believed to be interested in the four-time champion’s services. After an amazing 15-year F1 career, the 53-time race winner walked away from F1 last year. However, since the end of his racing career in F1, rumors of him taking part in other activities have come up. These links have only grown stronger, as per Motorsport.
Last month, it was reported that Britain’s Jota Sport had approached Vettel about joining their Hypercar class assault on the WEC 2024 with a pair of Porsche 963 LMDh models. Though the conversations are still in their early stages, rumors point toward a probable shift in the German ace’s post-retirement activities.
Details of Sebastian Vettel’s potential role in Jota Sport’s campaign
According to recent Motorsports reports, Sebastian Vettel may be teamed in an all-star team in two Jota Porsche cars. It is also believed that a round of testing in an LMP2 car is being scheduled for Vettel. Along with him, Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, and Kimi Raikkonen will likely be part of the team. If the ex-Red Bull driver accepts the offer, he could form a trio with these drivers.
The WEC event will be outstanding for the fans, with Jenson Button listed as one of the team’s top choices. Button will make his IMSA GTP debut this weekend with JDC Miller Motorsports’ Porsche 963. He’ll be racing alongside Mike Rockefeller and Tijmen van der Helm.
Former #F1 world champion Jenson Button says he has “a couple of options” to race in the #WEC or #IMSA events next year, with a link up with Sebastian Vettel one potential option.
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) October 13, 2023
However he did not talk about any link-ups with Vettel. “I honestly don’t know, I have a couple of options in IMSA to do a full season and to do enduros. I also have a couple of options to do WEC.”
On social media, he clarified a fan’s question by revealing that he does not know anything about Vettel joining him.
Insights into the current stage of negotiations between Sebastian Vettel and Jota Sport
Since Vettel’s retirement, fans have been curious about the champion’s daily life. After his venture into WEC, the German’s next step sparked a lot of theories. However, in an interview with Martin Brundle earlier last month, Vettel poured cold water on his return to F1. In an interview with Motorsport, the team principal of Jota provided clear insights for fans.
“You’ll come back won’t you?” 💭
“I can’t say no because you don’t know” 👀
An interview you’re NOT going to want to miss with Martin Brundle and Sebastian Vettel during our qualifying coverage for the Singapore Grand Prix 👊 pic.twitter.com/ZujNcKZKZc
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 13, 2023
He said, “We are speaking to Seb, there are discussions, but nothing is done. There isn’t any kind of contract signed. And he certainly hasn’t tested one of our cars.”
While the conversations are still ongoing, the team’s principal appears to have proposed an idea that could entice the four-time champion. It is the concept of sustainability. The team’s emphasis on sustainability may also be a factor in luring Vettel, with Hignett contrasting the team’s usage of solar power at Le Mans to Vettel’s recent Suzuka Bee Hotel initiative.
Aside from this, Jota are quite picky about their roster, and they want a quality driver in their team. They do not want any funded drivers to bloat the budget. After three LMP2 class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team will seek glory in the Hypercar category with the likes of quality drivers like Vettel, Jenson Button, and Robert Kubica.
