Formula E champion Wehrlein to make Le Mans 24 Hours debut with Porsche
The ex-F1 driver will tackle Circuit de la Sarthe in June for his debut at the prestigious 24-hour race
Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein has filled the vacant seat in the third factory Porsche Penske Motorsport Hypercar entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
The German, who is in his fifth season of Formula E with Porsche, will contest the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship on 14-15 June alongside Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr aboard the #4 PPM Porsche 963 LMDh.
Wehrlein, who drove for Sauber and Manor in Formula 1, will make his Le Mans debut after racing a 963 for the first time at the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA SportsCar Championship season-opener in January with the JDC-Miller MotorSports customer squad.
PPM has eight drivers on its LMDh roster across WEC and IMSA, meaning it has had to bring in an additional name for its expanded Le Mans assault.
Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach said: “The Porsche driver roster is absolutely top-tier and incredibly deep. It only makes sense to leverage our strong personnel from the FE factory team for the third PPM entry at Le Mans.
“Pascal Wehrlein has fully convinced us with his performance in testing and his participation in the Daytona 24 Hours. As the reigning FE world champion, he has earned his Le Mans debut at the wheel of a Porsche 963.”
#85: JDC-Miller MotorSports, Porsche 963, GTP: Tijmen van der Helm, Oliver Gray, Gianmaria Bruni, Pascal Wehrlein, Chris Miller
Photo by: Courtesy of IMSA
Wehrlein, 30, described the chance to compete at Le Mans “as a dream come true”.
“Porsche has such an iconic motorsport heritage; I am extremely grateful for this opportunity,” he added.
“I’m looking forward to this major challenge because, unlike in FE, I will have to share everything in the Porsche 963 that I would normally tailor specifically to myself: seating position, set-up, strategy and more.
“I want to add major titles in other series to my FE world championship victory, but my primary goal is to do a strong job for the team and learn as much as possible.”
The naming of Wehrlein in the #4 Penske 963 completes the entry list in the 21-strong Hypercar class for Le Mans, round four of WEC 2025.
Porsche has also announced that his Formula E team-mate, Antonio Felix da Costa, will return to Le Mans after a year’s absence.
It stated that the Portuguese will be racing in LMP2 aboard an ORECA-Gibson 07 without confirming the team.
Da Costa was a fixture on the Le Mans grid from 2018 to 2023, winning the LMP2 class with Jota in 2022. Porsche stopped him competing in the race last year in order for him to focus on Formula E.
Share Or Save This Story
Top Comments
BMW confirms star-studded line-up for Spa 24 Hours including Rossi & Magnussen
WEC BoP to benefit Aston Martin for Spa after poor start to 2025
Why Aston Martin's bet on Gamble
Wehrlein and Muller join Porsche line-up for WEC Spa 6 Hours
Wehrlein could join Porsche WEC ranks at Spa ahead of Le Mans debut
Why Porsche’s final Le Mans driver choice is intriguing
BMW confirms star-studded line-up for Spa 24 Hours including Rossi & Magnussen
Alpine F1 team boss Oakes resigns with immediate effect
BTCC ace Cook encouraged by Honda progress after Donington opener
MotoGP bans 2027-spec bike tests until conclusion of 2025 season
Why Porsche’s final Le Mans driver choice is intriguing
Why the Valkyrie is Aston Martin's strongest push for Le Mans glory since 1959
The return of Porsche's Le Mans winner that never was
The tweaks that could make a landmark Le Mans even better
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
