Sunday, 3 May 2015

F1 drivers make headlines in the World Endurance Champion

(Sahara Force India Formula One Team)

The World Endurance Championship were in Belgium on Saturday for the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps race, the second event on the 2015 WEC schedule.

A number of past and current Formula One drivers were in the field for the event. Former Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber finished on the podium for Porsche who he joined last season when the German manufacturer entered the sport with a Porsche 919 Hybrid.

The Australian was joined at Porsche this weekend by current Sahara Force India Formula One Team driver Nico Hulkenberg who start the race from P3 in a third Porsche 919 Hybrid. It was the first time since they entered the sport that the Porsche ran three 919’s in the LMP1 class. Hulkenberg went on to finish the event in a strong sixth place and will now shift his focus to next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix before returning to Porsche for the LeMans 24 Hours next month.

Webber and Hulkenberg weren’t the only drivers in the field associated with Formula One. Reigning WEC champion, Toyota’s Anthony Davidson is still heavily involved in Formula One with the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team as a test driver.

Davidson’s team mate Sebastien Buemi was part of the Red Bull young driver programme and raced for the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One Team. Porsche LMP1 driver Neel Jani drove for the Scuderia Toro Rosso Team as a test driver in 2006, while Andre Lotterer drove for the Caterham F1 Team at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix.

This would prove that the World Endurance Championship is a the leading alternative to Formula One and it is great to see that Nico Hulkenberg has been allowed to compete with Porsche alongside his Formula One commitments with the Sahara Force India Formula One Team.

© Ben Johnston 2015

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