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Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel could make his return to racing action in 2024, reports Auto Motor Sport.
Racing legend and former Red Bull and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel bid farewell to the sport at the end of the 2022 season. The German driver, who won four successive championships with Red Bull Racing before moving to Scuderia Ferrari, called it a day after a two-season stint with Aston Martin.
While a retirement at the age of 35 came as a surprise for most fans, rumors suggest that Vettel could make a comeback to the track later this season. With the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race approaching, Sebastian Vettel, in a test drive, took the reins of the hypercar Porsche 963 at Weissach, Germany.
Following the first round of testing, a second stage was then confirmed by Porsche. Sebastian Vettel is now taking part in a 36-hour test drive at the Motorland Aragón in Spain. The testing was initiated on March 25th and completes on March 27th.
Things took an intriguing turn shortly after the announcement for the second round of testing. The Porsche team, set to compete at Le Mans in 2024 with three cars, including the Porsche 963, had initially earmarked Mathieu Jaminet for a seat alongside Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.
The announcement was set to be confirmed later this week on March 28th, but has now been postponed. This, according to Auto Motor Sport, ignites the possibility of Vettel marking his return to the sport in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Sebastian Vettel shares his thoughts on testing the Porsche 965 in Weissach
After his first test drive with Porsche, Vettel emphasized his readiness to adapt to the demands of endurance racing. He said (via Porsche Newsroom):
"I’m looking forward to testing the Porsche 963. I already got the chance to get a feel for the car during a rollout in Weissach."
He added:
"Now I’m excited about the long run in Aragon and I’m looking forward to my time behind the wheel. It’ll definitely take an adjustment and some getting used to but everyone in the team is very open and helps me."
Speaking of his future, Vettel remains open to the possibility of extending his racing career beyond Formula 1. He said:
"This will be a new experience for me. We will then see what happens next in this respect – at the moment there are no further plans for the future."
The aforementioned source also reports that Sebastian Vettel could possibly compete in a third round of testing in the month of April. With Porsche scheduled to conduct sessions at Spa on April 5th and 6th, and another extensive test session on April 10th and 11th at the Le Castellet circuit in France, the former Ferrari driver is rumored to be featured in either of the two sessions.
