Sebastian Vettel racing return gathers pace after new Porsche admission

Sebastian Vettel is “on the mind” of Porsche director Urs Kuratle over a potential Le Mans driver for 2025.

Vettel has not raced competitively since leaving F1 at the conclusion of the 2022 season, but has dipped his toe into sportscars in recent months – including a successful test with Porsche.

Sebastian Vettel ‘not ruled out’ of Porsche hypercar drive

Porsche is set to run three 963s for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours, with a seat available in the third car as Porsche has reduced its factory driver pool from 10 to eight.

The third car already boasts Nick Tandy and IMSA champion Felipe Nasr for its line-up, but a third driver is not yet announced – and Vettel could be an attractive proposition for the German manufacturer.

Speaking in an interview with Sportscar365.com, Porsche LMDh director Urs Kuratle addressed the possibility of securing Vettel’s return.

“We are short of one driver, that is mathematically true,” Kuratle said.

“We have to think about it, obviously, when we came up with that decision. That’s something we’re evaluating but there’s no name there.

“There’s nothing set yet; it’s not decided, but obviously we have it in our mind.”

Asked directly if Vettel is a possibility for the vacant seat, Kuratle replied: “I’m not ruling it out.”

“Sebastian and Porsche AG, they have a friendly relationship. They talk to each other. I cannot rule it out at the moment but it’s not set.”

Added to the uncertainty is the fact the third car entry for Le Mans has not yet been formally confirmed internally, although Kuratle said he expects to received this approval soon.

“We are looking for the process of how to get it granted,” he said. “By winning the IMSA championship we have the third entry.

“It’s a little bit different operations and a bit more costs. We have to have discussions with Porsche internally.

“It’s not 100 percent sure yet; we have to discuss it with Porsche internally first and agree with everybody, but we have the entry, which is the biggest roadblock usually to get the third car at Le Mans.

“That one is granted now. All of the rest of the steps we will do. But I think we can expect Porsche to have three cars at Le Mans.”

Vettel’s connection to Porsche stems back to March of this year, when he joined a roster of drivers for an extensive 36-hour endurance test at Motorland Aragon in Spain ahead of this year’s Le Man 24 Hours as the German manufacturer sought to fill seats in its third car entry.

Ostensibly, Vettel was merely there for curiosity, but he has hinted at missing the allure of top-level motorsport – he clocked up hundreds of kilometres during the test and, reportedly, was immediately at a competitive pace.

Addressing his test during a press call at an investor call for the Perple nutritional sports drink, for whom he became an investor and ambassador, Vettel told PlanetF1.com the reasons for deciding to carry out the test.

“I was curious how these cars behave, and that was the reason for the test,” he said.

“It was a very nice experience, I enjoyed it a lot, and I had a lot of fun.

“Now I need to think and decide, and make my mind up, what I maybe want to do in terms of racing in the future. But I don’t know yet.”

For whatever reason, a link-up between Vettel and Porsche didn’t materialise for 2024, but the German driver has appeared at a handful of F1 races this year to highlight his new off-track environemental initiatives, and completed a demo run behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna’s 1993 McLaren at Imola back in May.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com, Vettel conceded that it “still hurts” to no longer be involved in F1.

“It was a very tough decision [to retire],” he said.

“I think it’s better now after one-and-a-half years of distance, but I think I’m very much at peace with it and enjoying my new life.”

“There’s lots of things that I miss, there’s also things that I don’t miss, so it’s always a give and take.

“Formula 1 these days is very, very intense.

“You look at the schedule, the amount of races, I think it’s not just something you feel as a driver, I think you’re probably lucky there really, but also as mechanics, engineers, working in the Formula 1 paddock, I think you guys [media] as well.

“So, it was a tough call when I made it. I was thinking about coming back and I knew beforehand that I will be thinking about it.

“But in the end, nothing has changed. I’m still happy with my decision.”

With Vettel raising a young family with his wife Hanna, freedom from the demands of F1 has allowed him to focus on his new endeavours, but former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has only just recently revealed that he has had to talk Vettel out of dreams of a comeback.

“I had to talk him out of his comeback dreams. Why should a four-time world champion do that to himself?” Ecclestone told the Swiss-German publication Blick.

With two seasons having passed without Vettel’s involvement in motorsport, his name is no longer being strongly linked to vacant cockpits in F1.

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