It’s not every day that you hear of a multiple Formula 1 champion leaving his comfort zone to attempt to conquer a new sport – but one man may just be up for that challenge.
Sebastian Vettel has enjoyed a quiet retirement since stepping away from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season, apart from a brief spell where he was tempted by the World Endurance Championship.
The four-time champion had suffered a few lacklustre years since leaving Ferrari in 2020 as he departed the sport at the young age of 35.
Sebastian Vettel ‘considers’ return to competitive racing at Le Mans
Since then, he has been seen making the odd car-related appearances – such as a demo run for Red Bull in his title winning RB7 at the Nürburgring and wrestling machinery at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Only once has he stepped into the cockpit with the intention of pushing the limits again, which he did back in March with a test in the Porsche 963 at Aragon.
There were a few rumours of a Formula 1 comeback at the start of the season when Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari, via sport.de, which had opened up a seat at Mercedes.
However, Vettel appears to show little interest in a move back to the sport, and it’s likely that the perfect storm would need to be created for him to be convinced to return.
So could he compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
According to Auto Motor und Sport, the German is ‘considering’ giving Le Mans a go for 2025, having maintained contact with Porsche since his test.
Who are the few drivers that have won Le Mans and a Formula 1 championship?
If Vettel was to win at Le Mans, he would join a very exclusive group of drivers.
Mike Hawthron, Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill and Fernando Alonso are the five drivers who have ventured to France and taken the Le Mans crown having also won a Formula 1 championship.
It’s a race which requires a significant amount of speed, planning and luck in order to come out of the right side of.
With plenty of racing experience under his belt at this time in his career, the man who once dominated an entire era of Formula 1 brings a wealth of experience as well as speed to the cockpit.
With Porsche already making plans for next year, it could be time for Vettel to make a decision as to whether he is ready to take on one of the toughest motorsport events in the world.