WEC: Porsche won't hurry P1 driver choice

Porsche will wait until next year before deciding who will fill the vacant seats alongside Nico Hulkenberg in its additional LMP1 entry for the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours.

The German manufacturer had wanted to announce the identity of Force India Formula 1 racer Hulkenberg's teammates in the third 919 Hybrid at Saturday evening's Night of Champions awards ceremony. But the proximity of the event to the final evaluation test of three of its roster of GT drivers did not allow time for a decision to be made.

"There is no rush and we will take our time," LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl said. "It only needs to be sorted by the time we begin our endurance program with the 2015 car in February, because the initial testing will be done by our regular drivers."

Seidl stressed that Frederic Makowiecki, Nick Tandy and Michael Christensen were all quick over the course of this week's three-day run at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain, at which Hulkenberg got his first run in Porsche's World Endurance Championship contender.

"The test only finished on Thursday and we need to analyse all the data and a lot of guys are busy with the new car," he explained.

Seidl said that it was not 100 percent decided that both seats would be given to drivers from its GT squad, although it was Porsche's desire to promote from within where possible.

The 2015 919 Hybrid is still on schedule to test for the first time before Christmas, Seidl stated.

Porsche plans a shakedown on the proving ground adjacent to the P1 base at its Weissach development facility ahead of a first track test at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi in mid-January.