The end of the Chinese racer’s contract as a so-called ‘selected driver’ with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific was revealed on Tuesday.
This is expected to be a prelude to an announcement that a driver who raced the Jota Porsche 963 LMDh in the WEC this year will be linking up with Ferrari.
His deal with the Italian manufacturer could extend to him joining its roster of factory drivers for 2024, according to sources external to Ferrari.
It appears certain that he will renew his relationship with Robert Kubica in the customer 499P Le Mans Hypercar to be run by AF on a satellite basis next season.
They won the 2021 European Le Mans Series with the Belgian WRT squad as part of a line-up completed by Louis Deletraz.
Ferrari has so far declined to comment on whether Ye will be joining its ranks in 2024.
The short statement from PMAP read: “After two unforgettable years as our Selected Driver, with great moments in GT3, LMP2, LMDh and Formula E machinery, it’s time to say farewell to Yifei Ye and wish him all the best for the future.”
Ye said that he was “closing a special chapter in my racing career”.
“I would like to thank PMAP and Porsche China for their support over the past two years yeas,” he continued.
“It was an honour to represent the PMAP colours as a selected driver.”
Ye, 23, was signed up by Porsche Motorsport’s Asia Pacific division for the 2022 season on the back of his successes the previous year, which also included victory in the Asian Le Mans Series with G-Drive Racing/Algarve Pro.
He was placed with the Cool Racing LMP2 squad in the ELMS by his new employer, which made no secret of its desire to see him racing a 963 in ’23.
Porsche subsequently smoothed his path into the Jota line-up alongside Antonio Felix da Costa and Will Stevens.
Ye also raced a Herberth Porsche 911 GT3-R in the Asian LMS at the start of 2022 and took part in the Formula E rookie test at the wheel of a Porsche 99X in Berlin earlier this year.
Ferrari Formula 1 reserve driver Robert Shwartzman is understood to be a contender for the third seat in the customer 499P AF will run in WEC next year alongside its two factory cars.
The 24-year-old sampled the 499P at last month’s WEC rookie test in Bahrain, although Ferrari sportscar racing boss Antonello Coletta stressed that the try-out was not linked to a potential drive in the satellite AF Hypercar entry.
A WEC drive for Shwartzman, who contested the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in an AF-run Ferrari 296 GT3 in 2023, could be problematic because the other F1 reserve at Ferrari is Antonio Giovinazzi, who is part of the #51 factory crew along with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Five of the eight WEC rounds clash with grands prix.
