Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel has had the chance to get behind the wheel of a Porsche 963 Hypercar, ahead of an official test at Motorland Aragon, Spain.
The German was previously floated for a potential race seat within Jota’s Porsche Hypercar programme in 2024 but felt he wasn’t able to commit to a full season of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
However, a one-off appearance at the marquee 24 Hours of Le Mans event could make sense for all parties, as Porsche Penske Motorsport will once again run a third Le Mans-only factory prototype, the #4 963.
With Mathieu Jaminet being the only driver confirmed in the #4 car at this stage, Vettel’s debut behind the wheel of the 963 could point toward his inclusion in the great race,
“I’m looking forward to testing the Porsche 963,” said Vettel.
“I already got the chance to get a feel for the car during a rollout in Weissach
“I’ve always followed other racing series and my curiosity for endurance events encouraged me to just give it a shot.
“Now I’m excited about the long run in Aragón and I’m looking forward to my time behind the wheel.
“It’ll definitely take an adjustment and some getting used to but everyone in the team is very open and helps me. 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.”
Vettel met with the operations crew at Porsche Penske Motorsport in Mannheim, Germany on March 14, before running simulator sessions the following day.
On Thursday, March 22 the German got a taste of the 963 on track at Porsche’s Weissach R&D facility and the next stage of his Hypercar journey will be participating in the 36-hour endurance test at Aragon next week with works drivers Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frédéric Makowiecki, Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor.
“We’re delighted that Sebastian Vettel is interested in our Porsche 963,” said Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Thomas 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.
“Our 36-hour long run with Porsche Penske Motorsport and our works drivers at Motorland Aragón offers a perfect environment for this.”
Vettel and Porsche at Le Mans would be an iconic pairing.
Vettel’s legendary status within the world of F1 is well-known, as is the German marque’s historic success at Le Mans.
Porsche boasts a record 19 overall victories at the 24-Hour Enduro and looks poised to challenge for win number 20 following Vanthoor, Estre and Lotterer emerging victorious in the #6 car during the FIA WEC season-opener in Qatar.
The Qatar success came hot on the heels of the 963 taking top honours in the 2024 IMSA Daytona 24 Hours in the hands of Dane Cameron, Campbell, Josef Newgarden and Felipe Nasr.
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