It has been more than a year since Sebastian Vettel competed in a motorsport race, having last taken part in the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. From there on, the German former driver kept teasing his fans that he could potentially return to racing but his plans never materialized. However, after his recent test with Porsche for the Le Mans series, the four-time F1 world champion can finally return and compete in the World Endurance Championship as early as 2024.
Vettel recently took part in the roll-out test for the third Le Mans car in Weissach, Germany. He shared the drive with Porsche Works driver Laurens Vanthoor and drove between 100 and 120 laps. The former F1 driver with his short drive in the Porsche hypercar was instantly competitive at raw speed.
As the former Red Bull driver has an outside chance of making a comeback, Porsche postponed their driver line-up announcement for the third car. Porsche’s Le Mans squad Team Penske will compete in the WEC with three cars: two WEC cars along with an additional 963 hypercar.
While Porsche already announced the drivers for the first two cars, the third car only has Mathieu Jaminet. The initial plan was to field Jaminet with Felipe Nasr and Nico Tandy, but Vettel’s test led the German automakers to postpone the announcement.
After finishing the test with Porsche, Vettel explained why he decided to give endurance racing a try. As quoted by Auto Motor Und Sport, Vettel said,
“I’m looking forward to testing the Porsche and have already had the opportunity to get to know the car a little in Weissach. I’ve always had other racing series and my curiosity for long distances encouraged me to just give it a try. Now, I’m excited about the endurance run in Aragón and am looking forward to my time behind the wheel”.
Will Sebastian Vettel return to Formula 1?
Other than the rumors that Sebastian Vettel can perhaps try his hand at endurance racing, there are also speculations that he may return to F1 with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton’s move away from the Silver Arrows will vacate a seat at Brackley, and reports suggest that Toto Wolff has already been in talks with the German to potentially replace the Briton.
However, there are no concrete updates on the same as Mercedes are also looking at other potential contenders. The other drivers they are likely to consider include the likes of Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Mick Schumacher, and even the highly talented teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
