Vettel may enter 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche: 'Not ruling it out'

Will Vettel be in next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with Porsche?

As Porsche has reduced the number of factory drivers for next year from 10 to eight, there is still one place left in the line-up for third car, alongside Nick Tandy and reigning IMSA GTP champion Felipe Nasr.

"We are short of one driver, that is mathematically true," Kuratle is quoted by Sportscar365. " 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 if Vettel is seen as an option, 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."

Why is Porsche entering Le Mans with three cars?

What is also not yet formally established is the participation of a third car in next year's edition. The German manufacturer managed to secure an additional participation by winning the GTP title in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, automatically gaining an invitation to the famous long-distance race. However, this third participation is yet to be approved, although Kuratle does not expect this to be a problem.

"We are looking for the process of how to get it granted. 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," he explains.

"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."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton