Porsche announces reduced factory drivers list, Le Mans winner Bruni dropped

Four-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Gianmaria Bruni is leaving Porsche’s line-up of factory drivers after eight years. 

The 43-year-old Italian was absent from the German marque’s works roster when it officially launched its motorsport programmes for 2025 on Saturday night. 

The departure follows two seasons in which Bruni did not have a seat aboard a factory Porsche and was placed at the Proton Competition customer 963 LMDh team in the World Endurance Championship and then the IMSA Sportscar Championship. 

Bruni was recruited from Ferrari ahead of 2017 and went on to become a stalwart of Porsche’s WEC GTE Pro squad from the 2018-19 season.

He claimed a fourth Le Mans class victory aboard a factory, Manthey-run Porsche 911 RSR in 2022, though was never able to emulate the WEC title successes he enjoyed with Ferrari, where he won the LMGTE Pro crown in 2013 and 2014.

Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Bruni could still end up racing a Porsche next year. The former Minardi Formula 1 racer joined the JDC-Miller MotorSports customer Porsche 963 squad at last month’s official IMSA test in Daytona. 

Among the drivers who tested the car in Daytona was Tijmen van der Helm, who was partnered in JDC’s 963 this year by the now-retired Richard Westbrook. 

Proton will not continue its engagement in IMSA’s GTP class with one of its pair of 963s, according to Porsche’s press announcement from Saturday’s Night of Champions event at its Weissach research and development facility. 

It stated that “one customer team” will join the works Porsche Penske Motorsport squad in the North American series, naming JDC-Miller, while at the same time referencing Proton’s continuation in the WEC with a solo 963. 

Porsche announced a reduced squad of works pilots at the event.

Bruni has departed what was a 16-strong line-up in 2024 along with Andre Lotterer, Dane Cameron and Frederic Makowiecki, who all left the PPM squad at the conclusion of their respective WEC and IMSA campaigns. 

#33 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992): Julian Andlauer, Klaus Bachler, Sven Müller, Alessio Picariello

Photo by: Gruppe C GmbH

Julien Andlauer has been promoted to full-factory status, having formerly been a so-called contracted Porsche driver, on his move from Proton to the PPM WEC squad for 2025.

The other new arrival is Nico Muller, whose recruitment by Porsche was announced in August. The Swiss has been placed with the Andretti Formula E squad, which uses the Porsche powertrain, for the coming season. 

That means there are now 14 Porsche factory racers. 

Porsche has a second list of contracted drivers on its books who are not accorded official works status. 

This list has been joined by Ricardo Feller, who moves over from Audi. The Swiss, who won the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year, was part of a small group of drivers retained by Audi Sport as it downscaled its customer racing department. 

Feller, 24, will race a Porsche 911 GT3-R in the DTM for the Allied Racing team, which is moving up from the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. 

His team-mate in the two-car squad will be Bastian Buus, another driver with a Porsche contract. 

Ricardo Feller, Team ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Michelle Gatting has also signed with Porsche to become a contracted pilot. She will be racing for the Manthey squad in the WEC’s LMGT3 class in 2025, and also with Proton in the European and Asian Le Mans Series, as part of the all-female Iron Dames programme. 

Klaus Bachler will move over from the WEC, in which he was part of the LMGT3 title-winning line-up, to join AO Racing for the defence of its IMSA GT Daytona Pro crown. 

The Austrian will be teamed with two fellow Porsche contractees, reigning champion Laurin Heinrich for the full season and Alessio Picariello for the Daytona and Sebring endurance rounds.

German youngster Theo Oeverhaus has been named as a Porsche junior driver. The 19-year-old, who finished third in this year’s German Carrera Cup, joins a scheme that produced drivers such as Le Mans winners Timo Bernhard and Marc Lieb. 

Italian driver Alessandro Ghiretti continues as a Porsche junior for a second season.