Mitch Evans has put his hand up to replace Nico Hulkenberg in Porsche’s Le Mans line-up should the schedule clash between the 24-hour race and F1 remain.
Evans, who won the GP2 sprint race at Bahrain on Saturday, tried the #17 title-winning Porsche LMP1 car at the same venue on Sunday, alongside Juan Pablo Montoya.
And with Hulkenberg unlikely to be able to defend his Le Mans crown thanks a clash with next year’s European Grand Prix in Baku, the New Zealander says he’d love to be able to race the 919 in his place.
“Obviously if Bernie decides to keep the F1 calendar the same, there will be a seat available at Porsche,” Evans told Motorsport.com.
“I am not sure at present where Porche’s thinking is at, whether they need to replace Nico [Hulkenberg]. Obviously I would love to be there, but I am sure that they have plenty of good options, so I am sure it will be tough to get it.
“We’ll see if I have done enough to convince them, but regardless it has been a great opportunity and I have to thank Porsche for giving me the chance.”
Evans closer to endurance racing switch
Regardless of what happens with Porsche, Evans is closer than ever to completing his switch from open-wheeler racing to endurance racing.
Evans, who confirmed plans to shift his career towards sportscars to Motorsport.com back in August, is now becoming increasingly focused on becoming a paid professional – particularly having now driven an LMP1 car.
“It is hard to say at the moment but I would love to [make the transition to FIA WEC],” Evans said.
“It is just a case of making the most of any opportunity that may come about. There is a lot of demand at the moment in sportscars and it is very attractive to drivers like myself who haven’t got to F1 yet.
“So I would love to be here, in LMP1 especially, and it has been great to have the opportunity to drive the car – especially one like the Porsche 919 Hybrid, which has had so much success this year.
“I think I have grown a big appreciation of the demands of endurance racing from a lot of different points of view. I can see the skill level in every single category now; I think they all have their own different skill-sets that make it very tricky.
“I’m not going to be bringing any money to anything,” he added. “It is not an open tap and where I am from money is very limited. It has been a great experience [in GP2] up until now, but I am definitely at the stage where I won’t be taking budget now.”
