Sebastian Vettel’s Return to Motorsport on the Cards With Latest Statement From Porsche

Do you recall Fernando Alonso’s infamous Le Mans win? The current Aston Martin Driver who replaced Sebastian Vettel won the endurance race back in 2018 and 2019. F1 drivers are no strangers to WEC cars and Le Mans. Nico Hulkenberg, also a former Aston Martin driver (previously called Force India) won the Le Mans in 2015. And now Sebastian Vettel, who tested with Porsche’s 2024 Le Mans competition, is reportedly set for a motorsport return. 

Sebastian Vettel has recently been heavily linked to an F1 return after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. While Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli are the prime prospects to replace the 7X champ, Toto Wolff reported having talks with Sebastian Vettel as well. But it’s not going to be with F1 that the 4X champ is going to make his motorsport comeback but rather the Le Mans or WEC. 

Earlier this month, Sebastian Vettel announced his test with Porsche as the German team looks forward to the Le Mans on the 15-16 of June. Vettel completed a total of 118 laps around Motorland Aragon covering a total distance of 581 Kilometers. This was the first time the German tested a Le Mans car, and he was driving the Porsche 963 with Porsche’s WEC team, Porsche Penske Motorsports. After the test, Thomas Laudenbach, Director of Porsche Motorsports, spoke highly of the 4X champ and hinted at a possibility of a Le Mans’ future. 

Laudenbach revealed that he’s had talks with Vettel regarding a Le Mans and/or WEC future. According to Soymotor, the Director said, “It is clear that we are talking for the future, but there is no hurry. He did really well, there is a reason why he is a four-time world champion. It was great to work with him and see how he joined the team. Very positive, but we have not decided anything about what is to come. We are talking about it.”

Sebastian Vettel retired from F1 because there were other aspects of life that he wanted to focus on including his family. However, it’s very difficult to take motorsports out of a racer as the adrenaline rush is something that a driver will always crave. And while the Mercedes door might be shut for him, Toto Wolff doesn’t discount his F1 return. 

Toto Wolff Hints Sebastian Vettel’s Motorsports Return

Mercedes looks set to sign Max Verstappen as rumors of contract negotiations after the Miami GP are going around the paddock. This more or less puts Sebastian Vettel’s F1 return with Mercedes to bed. However, there have also been rumors of Vettel signing with Audi for the 2026 season, as the German team wishes for an all-German lineup. Having already made a move for Nico Hulkenberg, Vettel as the other German driver makes a lot of sense. 

Regardless, Toto Wolff spoke about Vettel’s Porsche test, suggesting the German is itching to go racing again. The Mercedes Team Principal said, “Seb I think is flirting with the idea of going racing again. You can see he’s done a sportscar test with Porsche and has been enjoying it, and I think maybe there is the idea that came back of maybe coming back to Formula 1.”

What do you think? Does the possible Porsche Motorsport return hint at Vettel’s wish to go back to racing? Will he make an F1 comeback?