Porsche announces its withdrawal from the WEC at the end of 2025

This could have been anticipated, but it is now official. Porsche announced this Tuesday that it will focus exclusively on its commitment to Formula E and IMSA from the 2026 season. In other words, the commitment in WEC of the German brand is preparing to stop at the end of this year 2025. For the drivers involved in the world championship ofEndurance with Team Porsche Penske, the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the final round of the current season, will therefore be the last aboard the white and red Hypercars.

"We deeply regret that, due to current circumstances, we are unable to continue our involvement in the WEC after this season." explains Dr. Michael Steiner. Indeed, the group's financial difficulties are likely the main reason for this major decision on the sporting front. Armed with renowned drivers such as Kévin Estre, accompanied by profiles such as Laurens Vanthoor, Mathieu Jaminet, and Julien Andlauer, the Porsche Penske crews were indeed coming forward as serious contenders for victory behind the Ferrari. Like the success of the Porsche No. 6 which occurred during the 2025 edition of Lone Star Le Mans At the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, competitiveness was clearly not the team's main issue.

Strategic realignment for Porsche

With the desire to highlight its commitments elsewhere, Porsche argues about its desire to develop its presence in Formula E and IMSA, championships which will therefore not be abandoned by the brand in the short term. “The fourth generation of Formula E cars will be introduced for season 13 (2026/27) and will bring greater freedom of development, can we read. This will enable Porsche to further accelerate the learning curve for its fully electric production vehicles. With its participation in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, whose flagship race is the 24 Hours of Daytona, Porsche underlines the importance of the North American market and endurance racing for the brand. In addition to the two official entries in Formula E and IMSA, customer racing remains an important pillar of Porsche's motorsport strategy.

As a reminder, Formula E requires an annual budget limited to €13 million, while IMSA would be more like $5 million for a full season. By comparison, these figures would seem almost derisory compared to the €25 to €35 million minimum required for a WEC manufacturer.

Porsche and the 24 Hours of Le Mans question

Among the questions raised by this withdrawal from the World Endurance Championship, the one related to Porsche's presence at the 24 Hours of Le Mans legitimately arises. While the organization of the double-circle race can allow for greater freedom compared to the rest of the WEC calendar, will an invitation be issued to Porsche in Hypercar from next season? Like the presence of LMP2, now not included in the WEC, can the team that finished the 2025 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2nd place imagine a return?

The question will also arise regarding the other categories. In addition to the Porsche Penske teams present in the Hypercar category, will the LMGT3 categories also be directly impacted in the near future? Will Manthey Racing, the current leader in the category, have to reorient itself towards another manufacturer in the future? In this case, only the Hypercar category is at the heart of today's announcement.

In this case, Porsche clearly maintains its ambitions in the categories in which it will continue to compete, despite the end of the most prestigious program. "With the Porsche 963 in the North American IMSA series and the Porsche 99X Electric in the Formula E World Championship, we want to continue to fight for overall victories in the future. This is our tradition and our priority."

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