According to information from German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel is considering a competitive return to the track next year to compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
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According to the publication, Vettel plans to make his return to motorsport with the Jota team, a Porsche client. He could be teammates with two other former Formula 1 drivers, Jenson Button, champion of the maximum category in 2009, and Robert Kubica, winner of a Grand Prix. This trio, made up of competitors from Germany, Great Britain and Poland, would compete in the WEC season with a Porsche 963 operated by the British Jota team.
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German journalist Michael Schmidt, respected and close to Vettel, reported this information. During this weekend’s Japanese GP, where Vettel was present for an activity, the reporter questioned the four-time champion about negotiations with the Jota team. Vettel stated: “Nothing has been signed or decided, but I have the matter in mind. I still have time to decide.”
Vettel added that if at some point he concludes that his life doesn’t work without racing, he will return to driving. As for the possible signing of Kubica and Button, it depends on some agreements. Kubica currently drives in the WEC for the WRT team, but is in talks with the Jota team. Button, Brawn’s F1 champion, participated in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans with the ‘Garage 56’ project, adapting a NASCAR car for the race in La Sarthe. Vettel’s participation in the WEC would be motivated by the possibility of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race in which he had already expressed interest while competing in F1. This moment coincides with the rise of the WEC, which will have nine manufacturers in 2024, and manufacturers are looking for big names for the grid. Porsche may have Vettel as a representative through the Jota team, and BMW is also considering the presence of seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who became a GT driver after retiring from motorcycles. Alpine, in turn, is in negotiations with Mick Schumacher, a German who is Mercedes’ current reserve in the global motorsport elite, after being released by Haas at the end of the 2022 F1 championship.
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