The Formula 1 season may have only just ended in Brazil but already Mark Webber has started work with his new employers. The Australian joined Porsche at Portimão in Portugal for his first drive in the LMP1 car that he will race in 2014. Webber actually had to receive a special dispensation from Red Bull Racing to be at the event as he is technically still employed by the Formula 1 team, but it would appear that the 2013 champions were only too happy to allow Webber gain some valuable seat time.
At the final testing session of the year much time was spent on suspension and tyre developments with partner Michelin, with work already done on other aspects of the car at circuits like Magny-Cours, Monza and Paul Ricard.
The LMP1 race car will now be tucked up for a few weeks before testing resumes in the New Year with Webber (officially) joining his team mates of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani.
Anything else?
Changes to the rules for the 2014 season means that the Porsche LMP1 will run with an unexpected drivetrain. Like all cars in the class it will have a hybrid system with two energy recuperation systems that feed into a battery until the driver wants more power. However, newly introduced efficiency rules mean that Porsche will not use its favoured flat-six engine configuration, or a V6 like Audi; instead it will use a four-cylinder petrol unit. No word yet on the power output of such a unit but with Audi and Toyota gunning for them you can be sure it will be powerful.