What speaks for a Le Mans start?

Sebastian Vettel could compete in Le Mans with Porsche as early as 2024. The former Formula 1 world champion impressed in the first test. There are increasing signs of a racing comeback for the German. Porsche has postponed the planned announcement of the driver pairing of the third car for Le Mans.

Sebastian Vettel was abstinent for fifteen months. Apart from a few demonstration laps in a Williams FW14B at Silverstone and a Red Bull RB7 at the Nürburgring, the four-time world champion stayed away from the race track, but the thoroughbred racing driver regularly admitted that he misses racing. That's why his name was mentioned again and again when an attractive door opened-or seemed to open-in Formula 1, just like at Mercedes next year. The transfer of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari frees up a cockpit at Mercedes, and of course Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and Vettel were already in contact. The Heppenheimer also has his eye on the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Porsche. On March 21st, Vettel took part in the roll-out test of the third Le Mans car in Weissach. The 36-year-old shared the cockpit with Porsche works driver Laurens Vanthoor. The Belgian drove two stints of twenty laps each, after which Vettel took over the Porsche hypercar for several runs between ten and fifteen laps.

Vettel fast straight away

According to information from our sister magazine, Motorsport aktuell, Vettel was on the same lap time level as Vanthoor after just fifteen laps. First conclusion: Vettel was immediately competitive at raw speed, and he also impressed with good feedback. The second stage of the test plan was then initiated: Vettel and five other works drivers will take part in a 36-hour test at the Spanish Motorland Aragón racetrack from March 25th to 27th, which was planned as preparation for Le Mans. The test is intended to evaluate how the 53-time GP winner copes with the 700 hp LMDh car in the dark. Vettel wants to use the test to find out whether the LMDh class cars will rekindle the fire in him. With a curb weight of 1,030 kilograms, the hybrid racers are significantly heavier than a Formula 1 car and have less power, but with hybrid technology and biofuel, they fit into the green world view of the man in the cockpit. The first impression behind the wheel of the Porsche 963 already left a clear mark on the thoroughbred racing driver from Heppenheim: "I'm looking forward to testing the Porsche and have already had the opportunity to get to know the car a little in Weissach. I've always had other racing series, and my curiosity for long distances encouraged me to just give it a try. Now I'm excited about the endurance run in Aragón and am looking forward to my time behind the wheel. It will definitely take some adjustment and some getting used to, but the whole team is very open and helps me with that. We'll see what happens next. At the moment there are no further plans for the future."

Porsche postpones driver announcement

After that, at the latest, a decision must be made as to whether Vettel will be included in Porsche's Le Mans squad. The Penske team will compete at Le Mans in 2024 with three cars: the two WEC cars plus an additional 963, which so far only has Mathieu Jaminet named. The original plan was for Jaminet to share the Porsche with Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy. The trio should have been confirmed this week on Thursday, March 28, but that announcement was postponed. This suggests that there is a real chance that Vettel could still jump on the Le Mans bandwagon. The Heppenheimer is still keeping the ball low: "We'll see how things continue. At the moment there are no further plans for the future." Theoretically, it would be possible for Vettel to contest one of the two World Championship races in Imola or Spa, although not with the works cars, but with the two customer teams, Proton Competition or Jota Hertz Racing. Vettel would obviously like to drive a test race because this is the only way to optimally prepare for a race at Le Mans. As expected, there is no doubt about Vettel in terms of driving, but a test race would allow him to get a feel for the demanding traffic situation in endurance racing, where the fast hypercar top cars share the track with the much slower GT3 cars.

Further Porsche tests possible

Because of the great competition in the field, the sports prototypes are now the second most attractive racing series in the world. In Aragon, Vettel also gets to know the competition straight away. It's not just Porsche that is preparing for Le Mans. Alpine with Mick Schumacher has also registered on the Spanish route. If everything goes well, Vettel could complete a third test soon: Porsche will drive in Spa on April 5th and 6th, and there is also the possibility of another 36-hour test on April 10th and 11th at the French track Le Castellet, even if Porsche has not yet officially registered for the test. The decision on a Le Mans start must be made by mid-April at the latest. The Porsche board is said to be enthusiastic about the idea of ​​Vettel driving with Porsche at Le Mans as early as 2024.

Porsche against seven manufacturers

The Stuttgart team won the first race of the season in Qatar with the 963. The WEC is enjoying particular attention this year because eight manufacturers are represented: Porsche, Ferrari, Toyota, Peugeot, BMW, Cadillac, Alpine and Lamborghini. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is even more than usual one of the big motorsport highlights of the year. Another large car company, Aston Martin, is expected to join in 2025. There are persistent rumors about a McLaren entry. For Porsche, Vettel's testing is a prestigious experience. The example of Alonso at Toyota and Hülkenberg at Porsche shows what advertising value the deployment of a Formula 1 driver on foreign terrain can have. Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport, is pleased that the former champion is showing interest in Porsche's long-distance activities: "There was no question for us that we would be happy to support his request for a test opportunity and provide him with extensive preparation and sufficient time. We can certainly learn a lot from his valuable feedback. Our 36-hour endurance run with our factory drivers in Motorland Aragón offers a perfect environment for this."

completely not normal about sebastian vettel being down to be driving an old car on his 35th birthday at silverstone of all places

god i really hope it’s the williams’ fw14b aka the nigel mansell red 5 car aka one of the reasons he chose 5 as his race number cos he’s been saying since he bought it that he wants to drive it

aston martin please let this absolute nerd completely lose his shit and drive the red 5 on his bday

Sebastian Vettel will drive eco-friendly ex-Mansell Williams F1 car ahead of British GP

Sebastian Vettel will drive eco-friendly ex-Mansell Williams F1 car ahead of British GP

F1 driver Sebastian Vettel will take to the Silverstone circuit on Sunday in the car with which Nigel Mansell won the British Grand Prix (and the world championship) 30 years ago … only this time the classic Williams FW14B will be powered by environmentally-friendly synthetic fuel. The four-times world champion will get behind the wheel of the Renault-engined car, which he now owns, for a couple…

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Vettel to drive Mansell Williams and Senna McLaren at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel will drive Nigel Mansell’s championship-winning Williams FW14B and Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/8 at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, it was announced on Wednesday. Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season and has since kept a low profile, but the German driver will return to the cockpit in two of his own Formula 1 cars at the famous Festival of Speed, held at the Goodwood estate in England. F1 ICONS: Rally legend Sebastien Ogier on four-time F1 champ Sebastian Vettel The former Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin driver will pilot his Williams FW14B, which was driven to the title by Mansell in 1992, and his McLaren MP4/8, which was raced by Senna in 1993 – both of which Vettel now owns. This year will be Vettel's second visit to the festival, as the four-time champ last took to the British event in 2012 when he was driving for Red Bull. There, he drove his title-winning Red Bull RB7. This year, the event will also display a collection of Vettel's cars and celebrate his career. He will run the historic F1 cars on sustainable fuels. WATCH: What are sustainable fuels, how are they made – and how could this affect you? “It's great to be coming back to Goodwood after all these years. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of some of my most memorable cars which will be running on sustainable fuel over the weekend," said Vettel. “I’m a passionate racer and it’s important to me that we continue to enjoy driving iconic racing cars today and in the future, but that we do so in a responsible way." Vettel previously drove the FW14B in a demonstration run at last year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, as you can see in the clip below... This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences 2022 British Grand Prix: Vettel drives Williams FW14B at Silverstone via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

Vettel to drive sustainably-fuelled F1 cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed | Formula 1

Four-times Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will drive classic grand prix machines powered by sustainable fuel at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Vettel retired from racing at the end of last season. The former Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin driver has become increasingly passionate about and advocated for causes that can limit the impact of climate change in recent years. Last year he launched a sustainable fuels initiative, and he can now run several of the F1 cars he owns on such fuels. This includes the Renault V10-powered William FW14B which Nigel Mansell drove on the way to the 1992 F1 title and the McLaren MP4/8 with a Ford V8 engine that Ayrton Senna raced during the 1993 season. He will drive each up Goodwood’s iconic hillclimb on the 15th and 16th of July. The other cars he will pilot are yet to be revealed, but all will be driven using sustainable fuels. The last time Vettel attended the Festival of Speed was in 2012, when he drove the previous year’s Red Bull RB7 along with team mate Mark Webber. That car, like the 1992 Williams, was designed by Adrian Newey. “It’s great to be coming back to Goodwood after all these years,” said Vettel. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of some of my most memorable cars which will be running on sustainable fuel over the weekend. I’m a passionate racer and it’s important to me that we continue to enjoy driving iconic racing cars today and in the future, but that we do so in a responsible way.” The Duke of Richmond, who owns the estate on which the Festival of Speed is held, said he is “enormously excited to welcome Sebastian back to Goodwood this summer.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free “I know our fans will be delighted to have an opportunity to celebrate his incredible career and to see him in action on the hill. “His attitude towards sourcing alternative fuels absolutely aligns with our plans across the event and the wider estate to ensure we are shining a light on this important topic and protect motorsport for the next generation.” Pictures: Vettel in his FW14B at Silverstone Sebastian Vettel (GER) Aston Martin F1 Team runs his Williams FW14B driven in 1992 by Nigel Mansell (GBR). 03.07.2022. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 10, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Race Day. – www.xpbimages.com, EMail: [email protected] © Copyright: Coates / XPB Images Sebastian Vettel, Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, Williams-Renault FW14B, Silverstone, 2022 2023 F1 season Browse all 2023 F1 season articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

F1 slow to adopt sustainable fuel says Vettel after latest demo run | 2022 French Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel believes his demonstration runs in cars using sustainable fuel show Formula 1 is being too slow to adopt a technology which is ready for introduction. The Aston Martin driver demonstrated the company first grand prix car, 100 years after their debut in the French Grand Prix, at the Paul Ricard before this year’s event began. “It was good,” said Vettel. “I think nowadays cars are fun but I think it would be nice to do a time travel and race in that era when you had to do so much co-ordination with your hands and with your feet and not just your driving.” The 100-year-old ‘Green Pea’ ran on sustainable fuel. Vettel used the same for his previous demonstration run in Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship-winning Williams-Renault FW14B at Silverstone earlier this month. “It was great to have the same partner, the same company that was helping us a lot in Silverstone with Nigel’s car, with the Williams to buy the fuel,” he said. “And this time we had even less time to prepare.” Formula 1 is due to introduce sustainable fuels in 2026, coinciding with the introduction of a new engine formula. It will trial the new fuels in Formula 2 and Formula 3 beforehand. However Vettel believes F1 could be more ambitious with its timetable for adopting the technology. “It goes to show that it can be done, it is ready,” he said. “So you’re also asking yourself why, in Formula 1, we are so slow? If we always claim to be the best at everything, we are more than four years behind.” Vettel has become increasingly vocal in recent years about his desire to see F1 cut its emissions. He said political factors are slowing the adoption of sustainable technologies in the sport and beyond. “There’s still a lot of problems in this world and still money and politics prevent us from doing what often makes sense,” he reflected. “Formula 1 is no different.” F1’s technical director Pat Symonds, who began looking into sustainable fuels in 2018, previously said the sport had to overcome “some reluctance” among “some of the oil companies” to embrace the technology. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Pictures: Vettel’s 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’ demonstration run Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Sebastian Vettel, 1922 Aston Martin ‘Green Pea’, Paul Ricard, 2022 Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2022 French Grand Prix Browse all 2022 French Grand Prix articles via RaceFans https://www.racefans.net

Vettel reveals he was 'screaming' for Schumacher to win race against Verstappen at Silverstone

Sebastian Vettel was delighted to take points at Silverstone on his birthday – but perhaps even more elated to see his friend Mick Schumacher score his first points in Formula 1 after a late-race battle with Max Verstappen. Aston Martin's Vettel has a solid friendship with Schumacher having acted as a mentor throughout his career and praised the Haas driver for his rookie season in 2021. The British GP saw Schumacher make it up to eighth and challenge Verstappen – who was compromised by damage – in the final moments of the race, kicking off a sensational battle between the reigning champion and the then-yet-to-score Haas driver. It turned out that Vettel was keeping a close eye on that wheel-to-wheel scrap. READ MORE: Ross Brawn on the ‘fabulous racing’ at Silverstone, his relief after Zhou’s crash & why we’re truly entering a new era of F1 “I was very happy for him,” said Vettel to F1 TV's Post-Race Show. “I saw what happened, and I saw that he was closing in the gap, and I was actually screaming inside the car, like: ‘Go Mick, Go Mick, go get him!’. “So, I’m very happy for him; it’s been a long time that he deserves the result, and it’s great to get it. I thought maybe I’d get him at the end, but they were too quick. It was actually entertaining to see them going for it every time into Turn 15, it looked like [they] were side-by-side, also into Turn 6, down the Wellington straight… well done.” 2022 British Grand Prix: Schumacher praises ‘brilliant’ Haas after scoring first F1 points While Verstappen fended off Schumacher to finish seventh, the Haas driver took his first points of his F1 career in P8. As for Vettel, he enjoyed his birthday having demonstrated the ex-Nigel Mansell FW14B before finishing ninth from 18th in the Grand Prix. "I think it was a great recovery. Obviously to score points, it’s very important for us; you know, the factory is just across the road, for a lot of people this weekend here is a big weekend for us and at least we got some points. There is still a lot of work to do but it was a good recovery, I’m happy," said Vettel. READ MORE: 6 Winners and 5 Losers from the British Grand Prix – Who shone at Silverstone? The four-time champion also gave his thoughts on the high-speed start-line crash that saw him make contact with Williams' Alex Albon. "The first start, with the red flag, was very chaotic. I had made a really good getaway and it launched me into a gap nearly alongside Alex [Albon]. Then I got squeezed and everything backed up as a reaction to the accident ahead. I braked but could not avoid making contact with Alex. The most important thing is that everybody involved is fine." Aston Martin head to Austria with 18 points, two less than Haas, as they occupy P9 in the championship. 2022 British Grand Prix: Vettel drives Williams FW14B at Silverstone via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

Im expecting to have fun says Vettel as he prepares for carbon neutral-fuelled Silverstone run in Mansells 1992 Williams

Fans at this weekend’s British Grand Prix are in for an extra treat this Sunday as Sebastian Vettel will be hitting the circuit in Nigel Mansell’s Williams FW14B for a demonstration run around Silverstone – 30 years after Mansell took a famous victory at the track. In Mansell’s hands, the active-ride car was dominant in the 1992 season and the moustachioed Englishman won nine Grands Prix across the year on his way to the World Championship – including the British Grand Prix, where he qualified on pole a staggering 1.919s ahead of his team mate Ricardo Patrese. READ MORE: An all-British Mercedes line-up and Leclerc on the attack – 5 storylines we’re excited about ahead of the 2022 British GP A keen F1 history buff, Vettel bought the famous ‘red five’ car – so named for Mansell’s race number emblazoned in red on the nose cone – two years ago and decided a demo run at Silverstone would be the ideal way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Mansell’s crowd pleasing triumph. “I’m expecting to have a lot of fun and I hope people can share that fun, because I think it’s an incredible car, the history of the car, the way it sounds. So I’m looking forward to it,” Aston Martin driver Vettel said ahead of this weekend’s event. “It was my idea – it’s my car – I bought the car some years ago because it’s ‘red five’ – that means a bit more than just a car from 30 years ago. Obviously I’ve got the number five on my car, I won my championship with the red five – even if it was a little bit smaller on our car – I was wearing number five in karting quite a lot, and I have number five now, so there’s a link there. The fans swarmed around Mansell after he raced to victory at Silverstone in the FW14B back in 1992 “And I think the early 90s are the [earliest] memories I have from Formula 1 – the first memories are that car and the years after. So it was my idea and I thought exactly 30 years after it won the championship in 1992, and the British Grand Prix, it was a great idea.” But as well as looking back to the past, environmental campaigner Vettel is also making a statement about the future with his demo run, as the car will run on sustainable fuels – with Formula 1 set for a move to 100% sustainable fuels in 2026. READ MORE: F1 continues push to hit Net Zero Carbon by 2030 target “I also thought we have to do it in a responsible way, so we’re using carbon-neutral fuels on Sunday, to demonstrate that we can still hang on to our history and heritage and culture in motorsport but do it in a responsible way,” he explained. “It was some effort to find the fuel but once we found it it was actually very easy, it only took one shakedown to get on top of it. Vettel is a keen F1 historian – but is just as interested in looking to the sport's future “You will see it on Sunday, it’s no different to how the car was 30 years ago, it will sound exactly the same, it will drive exactly the same way. “I will not try within a couple of laps to go to the absolute limit, but I will try to enjoy it which means go as fast as I feel comfortable with – bearing in mind it’s my car! FORM GUIDE: Is Verstappen's stellar run set to continue in the 2022 British Grand Prix? “Motorsport is all our passion, it’s what we grew up with. I think the cars I dreamt of as a child might be different to some of the other drivers but it’s important to find a way that we can do it responsibly as well to keep these cars and the history alive. “You can express culture in many ways: music, art, but our way of expressing ourselves is driving cars, racing cars, and it would be a shame if that was all to disappear, and I think it’s a way to keep it alive. And looking forward, Formula 1 is headed in that direction in 2026 [when F1 will be using 100% sustainable fuel] and I think it’s a great way to put it all together and have some fun.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com