Le Mans debut for Pascal Wehrlein in the Porsche 963

Porsche Formula E factory drivers to compete in the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

/EIN News/ -- Atlanta., March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Porsche factory driver Pascal Wehrlein will make his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15, 2025. The reigning Formula E World Champion from Germany will complete the Porsche Penske Motorsport driver lineup. Wehrlein will share the cockpit of the #4 Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Nick Tandy from Great Britain. Portuguese António Félix da Costa, also a full-time driver in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, will compete in the LMP2 category, piloting an Oreca prototype in the highlight event of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC season.  

• Pascal Wehrlein to race a factory Porsche at Le Mans
• Nasr/Tandy/Wehrlein in Porsche Penske Motorsport's #4 entry
• Factory teammate António Félix da Costa competing in the LMP2 class

Pascal Wehrlein is already familiar with the Porsche 963 from test sessions and his participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona in late January, where he bolstered the customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports. In June, the reigning Formula E World Champion and former DTM Champion will take the wheel of the hybrid prototype for Porsche Penske Motorsport in his Le Mans debut. He will share driving duties with seasoned factory teammates: Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy, who recently won the two major North American endurance classics in Daytona and Sebring as full-time drivers in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Nasr, a three-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship titleholder, will be making his sixth start at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Tandy, who claimed overall victory with Porsche in 2015, brings extensive experience from twelve previous Le Mans appearances.

"The Porsche driver roster is absolutely top-tier and incredibly deep. It only makes sense to leverage our strong personnel from the Formula E factory team for the third Porsche Penske Motorsport entry at Le Mans," explains Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. "Pascal Wehrlein has fully convinced us with his performance in testing and his participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the reigning Formula E World Champion, he has earned his Le Mans debut at the wheel of a Porsche 963. António Félix da Costa, making his seventh start in France, will undoubtedly be among the fastest LMP2 drivers once again."

"Competing for Porsche Penske Motorsport at Le Mans is a dream come true for me. I`m looking forward to this major challenge because, unlike in Formula E, I have to share everything in the Porsche 963 that I would normally tailor specifically to myself: seating position, setup, strategy, and more," says Pascal Wehrlein, looking ahead to his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut. "Of course, I want to add major titles in other series to my Formula E World Championship victory, but my primary goal is to do a strong job for the team and learn as much as possible. Porsche has such an iconic motorsport heritage; I am extremely grateful for this opportunity."

While Wehrlein will first need to acclimate himself to the unique demands of the Circuit des 24 Heures in June, his Formula E teammate António Félix da Costa is no stranger to the legendary endurance race. The Portuguese driver is set for his seventh Le Mans start. In 2022, he won the LMP2 class behind the wheel of an Oreca-Gibson. The following year, he took on the 24-hour challenge with a customer Porsche 963.

"I am very happy to be back at Le Mans after one year absence," the 33-year-old said. "In my last LMP2 appearance, I won the class. That’s my goal again this year. I can’t wait to attack alongside my teammates in June."

Porsche race cars at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans
Hypercar Class (Porsche 963):
#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Felipe Nasr (BRA) / Nick Tandy (GBR) / Pascal Wehrlein (DEU)
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Julien Andlauer (FRA) / Michael Christensen (DNK) / Mathieu Jaminet (FRA)
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Matt Campbell (AUS) / Kévin Estre (FRA) / Laurens Vanthoor (BEL)
#99 Proton Competition: Neel Jani (SUI) / Nico Pino (CHL) / Nico Varrone (ARG)

LMGT3 Class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
#85 Iron Dames: Rahel Frey (SUI) / Michelle Gatting (DNK) / Célia Martin (FRA)
#90 Manthey: Antares Au (HKG) / Loek Hartog (NED) / Klaus Bachler (AUT)
#91 Manthey 1st Phorm: Ryan Hardwick (USA) / Richard Lietz (AUT) / Riccardo Pera (ITA)

Porsche in Formula E
In the 2024/2025 season, Porsche is contesting its sixth Formula E campaign. Alongside the factory-run TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, the U.S.-based customer team Andretti Formula E competes with the highly efficient Porsche 99X Electric of the latest GEN3 Evo generation. For the first time, a second Porsche customer team, Cupra Kiro, also participates, utilizing the previous-generation GEN3 technology in the 99X Electric. Porsche continues to gain valuable insights for its production sports cars through its Formula E endeavors.

Attachments

• Le Mans 2024: Porsche 963
• Pascal Wehrlein (DEU), Porsche Penske Motorsport (#4)

Luke Vandezande
                    Porsche Cars North America, Inc. 
                    +1 470.363.5001
                    luke.vandezande@porsche.us
                    
                    Reece White
                    Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
                    +1 318.383.9426
                    reece@rwhitecommunications.com