Sebastian Vettel will drive a 670bhp Porsche Hypercar for 36 hours

A man who used to drive really powerful cars for a short amount of time has confirmed he will once again drive a really powerful car, but for a really long time.

So welcome back to the world of motorsport, Sebastian Vettel. Only now, the four-time Formula One world champion and finger-pointing extraordinaire will be driving with a roof over his head. He’s been confirmed as Porsche’s test driver for its little outing in the 963 hypercar next week.

Vettel will do a 36-hour long run at Spain’s 5.345km Aragón circuit to give the 670bhp closed cockpit endurance racer a full shakedown as part of Porsche’s preparations for the 2024 Le Mans 24hr race.

Unsurprisingly, Vettel – a racing driver, don’t forget – was looking forward to testing the Porsche 963. “I’m looking forward to testing the Porsche 963,” he said. “I already got the chance to get a feel for the car during a rollout in Weissach.

“I’ve always followed other racing series and my curiosity for endurance events encouraged me to just give it a shot. Now I’m excited about the long run in Aragón and I’m looking forward to my time behind the wheel.

“It’ll definitely take an adjustment and some getting used to but everyone in the team is very open and helps me,” he added.

Porsche too, is delighted that Vettel – a four-time Formula One world champion, don’t forget – is interested in its 963. “We’re delighted that Sebastian Vettel is interested in our Porsche 963,” said Porsche Motorsport VP Thomas Laudenbach.

And it sounds like the request came from Vettel himself. “There was no question for us that we’d be thrilled to support his request for an opportunity to test and provide him with extensive preparation and plenty of time to drive our hybrid prototype,” Laudenbach added.

Vettel’s feedback will no doubt prove enormously valuable as Porsche looks for its 20th outright victory at this year’s Le Mans 24hr race. Indeed, “to increase the chances of the desired success”, says Porsche, it’s entering a third 963 in this year’s Le Mans. And currently, only Mathieu Jaminet has been confirmed as a driver in this third car, leaving a couple of spots open in the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport entries. Will he… will he do it?

“This will be a new experience for me,” Vettel said of next week's test. “We will then see what happens next in this respect – at the moment there are no further plans for the future.”

Who here would like to see this man who used to drive really powerful cars for a living drive this really powerful Porsche for a really long time in France?