Christensen Will “Fight to Stay” in WEC Amid IMSA Rumors

Michael Christensen says he wants to “fight to stay” in the FIA World Endurance Championship amid speculation that the Porsche driver could be shifted over to the marque’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program next year.

Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid told Sportscar365 last month at the Circuit of The Americas that another driver ‘shuffle’ could be on the cards for 2025, after the German manufacturer elected to swap Dane Cameron and Matt Campbell between its WEC and IMSA efforts this year.

Paddock speculation suggests that a similar swap this off-season could involve Christensen and current IMSA racer Mathieu Jaminet.

“I have a contract with Porsche. Whether they have a plan for me or not yet, they haven’t communicated,” Christensen told Sportscar365 when asked about his future at Fuji ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the WEC season.

“We have to wait and see. It’s clear there are a lot of rumors, but no information has come from management. I only get to hear rumors. To be honest, I don’t know.”

Christensen endured a difficult opening race of the season at Qatar, where he experienced tire problems on his way to a third-place finish alongside his co-drivers in the No. 5 Porsche, Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki.

The Danish driver was also at the wheel when the No. 5 car dropped out of the Spa race after riding up on a curb at Blanchimont, causing the hybrid system to shut down for safety reasons.

Asked whether he would prefer to race in the WEC or IMSA, Christensen replied: “I always felt more at home in WEC. I want to fight to stay here. But it’s not my decision.

“I enjoy racing in IMSA, no doubt, but I just prefer WEC, also due to Le Mans – this is the race of the year, and I want to make sure I’m prepared as well as possible for that. 

“Of course you could always be in the third car or whatever. But WEC is my preferred option. This is the best possible way to be prepared for Le Mans.”

Lotterer Hopes Porsche “Doesn’t Change” No. 6 Crew

As well as Jaminet, Julien Andlauer has been linked to a potential factory Porsche WEC drive next year after impressing this year driving for customer squad Proton Competition.

This could impact Andre Lotterer, who currently leads the championship in the No. 6 Penske Porsche entry alongside Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

But Lotterer, who turns 43 in November, hopes that a successful campaign this year could convince Porsche to keep the No. 6 lineup unchanged for the 2025 campaign.

Asked by Sportscar365 if he felt confident about keeping his drive in 2025, Lotterer replied: “Let’s see. I hope so. 

“We are leading the championship, we are doing a good job, I think me, Laurens and Kevin make a good trio, also together with the engineers. 

“We showed a lot of strength and consistency and we all have our roles in the team. You hope they don’t change what they don’t need to.”

Speaking to reporters at Fuji Speedway this weekend, Diuguid said that its lineup is not yet finalized but has been pleased with the performance from its entire factory roster of drivers.

“All options are still on the table,” he said. “I would say we’re getting closer. I wouldn’t say there’s a timeline for a decision.

“Like we’ve said before, all ten of our drivers right now are doing a really good job. We’re not choosing from a bad pool of talent.”

Penske “Considering Everything” for Makeup of WEC Lineups

With the WEC’s proposed three-driver mandate unlikely to get ratified for next year, Diuguid indicated that Penske could look at the option of using two-driver lineups for selected six-hour races, although also pointed out the benefits of remaining with three-driver squads.

“It’s something we’re looking at and considering,” he said.

“The other thing we’re considering is these six-hour races are pretty much sprint races now as well. Cycling through two drivers is quite difficult, not so much physically but more mentally, making sure they don’t make mistakes.

“I think that’s been one of the strong points of our WEC crews, specifically this year, is the number of mistakes they’ve made is quite low. I think that’s put us in a position to be able to win.

“We’re considering everything, not just pace, not just reliability but trying to put them in the best position to be able to succeed.”

John Dagys contributed to this report