Sebastian Vettel will not make a comeback to top-tier racing at Le Mans this year.
The former four-time F1 world champion had recently tested Porsche's Le Mans-ready 963 hypercar, leading to rumors he might be part of the team for their third entry.
There was speculation that Porsche had postponed their announcement regarding the drivers for their third car as they awaited Vettel, aged 36, to make his decision.
Nevertheless, the authoritative Motorsport Aktuell magazine reported last month that "Porsche factory drivers have apparently already been informed that the third car will be driven by Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy as originally planned."
Porsche has now officially confirmed this lineup, without including or even mentioning Vettel in the announcement.
"After announcing the entry of a third car in Le Mans, we still had two driver positions available," stated Porsche executive Urs Kuratle. "The decision was not easy for us given our very strong and equally skilled squad. Ultimately, one of the deciding factors was having Le Mans experience."
