Pascal Wehrlein could be in the running for a factory drive with Porsche in next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours after a surprise appearance in last week’s Daytona test.
While Porsche Penske Motorsport has already announced the driver pairings for its two factory 963 LMDh cars in the 2025 World Endurance Championship, there will be one vacant seat available in its Le Mans line-up if it decides to field an additional entry.
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has been repeatedly linked to a third Porsche entry at Le Mans, having tested the car earlier this year.
But last weekend, factory Porsche driver and former Formula E champion Wehrlein made an unexpected visit to the Daytona International Speedway, driving the Porsche 963 of customer squad JDC-Miller in the official IMSA-sanctioned test.
That gives a possible indication that Wehrlein, and not fellow German Vettel, could get the nod to drive for Porsche in the 93rd running of Le Mans.
Last month, Porsche motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said “it is more likely we will run three cars” at Le Mans next year after securing an additional entry for WEC’s centrepiece event by winning the GTP title in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Porsche currently has eight prototype drivers in its factory roster across WEC and IMSA for the 2025 season, down from 10 this year. With three drivers required in each car, that leaves one vacancy in its squad for a three-car attack.
Urs Kuratle, the project driver at LMDh, admitted that an extra driver would be needed should Porsche go ahead with its plan to field a third car.
He did not rule out Vettel being a contender for the seat and even confirmed to have held talks with him. But while the 37-year-old has mainly completed demo runs since his exit from F1 with Aston Martin at the end of 2022, Wehrlein is currently in the prime of his career.
Unlike Vettel, the 30-year-old, of course, is already a factory driver for Porsche in FE and tested the car while it was still being developed in 2022.
In fact, Wehrlein was a contender for a full season in the WEC upon Porsche’s return to the top echelon of sportscar racing in 2023. The German manufacturer eventually signed Frederic Makowiecki to complete its line-up in the Hypercar class.
Makowiecki, Andre Lotterer and Dane Cameron have all been dropped from Porsche’s LMDh line-ups in 2025, while Julien Andlauer has received a factory contract after a season spent racing for the customer Proton Competition team in the WEC.
No clashes with Formula E
What will happen next with Wehrlein's Hypercar ambitions remains unclear, but a participation in the Daytona 24 Hours in JDC-Miller Porsche would be obvious after the test.
There is no clash between the Formula E calendar and the IMSA season opener, which is scheduled for 27-28 January, and the ‘Roar Before The 24’ test that precedes the enduro.
Wehrlein also has no clashing Formula E commitments on the Le Mans test day, which will take place on 8 June, and Le Mans itself, which will be held on 11-15 June.
In addition, a start in the IMSA classic in Sebring (15 March) would also be possible, serving as preparation for the blue-riband WEC round.
With potential race appearances after last week’s test, Wehrlein could continue to learn the Porsche 963 and then support the factory team at Le Mans - the FE schedule would not stand in the way of his Le Sarthe debut. But that would mean the door to the factory team in the 24-hour enduro would be closed for his countryman Vettel.
