Nico Müller has been announced by Porsche Motorsport as its new works driver, just one day after being confirmed as Norman Nato’s replacement at the Andretti FIA Formula E team.
The German marque has said that the Swiss driver’s future with them “is currently being planned and will be announced at a later date”.
Yesterday, the 32-year-old was announced by Andretti – Porsche’s powertrain customers – as team-mate to Jake Dennis, ending weeks of speculation.
In a statement, Müller said:
“Being a Porsche works driver is a childhood dream come true for me. When I first came into contact with Porsche, I immediately realised: this is something very special.
“As a racing driver, Porsche is the brand you look up to. To be able to represent Porsche now is a great honour that fills me with a great deal of pride.”
Thomas Laudenbach, the Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, said:
“Welcome to the Porsche family, Nico Müller! We are delighted to welcome another professional with such extensive and varied motorsport experience to our squad.
“Nico has already successfully demonstrated his skills in various challenging racing series. Among other things, he has won the Nürburgring 24 Hours and was twice runner-up in the DTM.
“We initially expect his expertise in formula racing to play a crucial role for Porsche’s Formula E programme. We will announce at a later date whether and in which other series Nico will drive for Porsche.”
The ominous nature of the announcement raises many questions as to where Müller’s long-term future lies within the German squad.
As alluded to by Motorsport Week yesterday, Müller’s move to Andretti could be seen as, at the very least, a placation of having appeared to miss-out on replacing Antonio Felix da Costa in the factory Formula E team.
In the weeks between the Diriyah and São Paulo rounds of Season 10 earlier this year, its Team Principal Florian Modlinger made the decision to test Müller, with da Costa’s form floundering.
The Portuguese’s performances took an upturn amid this development, and went onto take four wins – more than any other driver would achieve – finishing fifth in the Drivers’ standings.
But the 2019-20 champion’s contract with Porsche is due to expire at the end of the upcoming 11th season, leaving Müller’s feat well-and-truly in the door.
Additionally, Porsche are known to be planning an expansion of its sportscar project, keeping a firm interest in the FIA World Endurance Championship, in which Müller will be a free agent after announcing his exit from Peugeot at the end of this season.
With his fifth season in Formula E approaching, Müller’s reputation as one of the category’s top drivers has been further enhanced after a series of brilliant drives for the uncompetitive ABT-Cupra team, but has not been in the right machinery to challenge for wins.
It is possible that Müller will be able to balance commitments in FE and WEC should Porsche take the decision that his talents are best served in both.
