Nyck de Vries was spotted at the Paul Ricard circuit last weekend. The Dutch driver, who recently became champion in endurance racing with Toyota, was allowed to test with an old Formula 1 car from McLaren. De Vries has not been behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car since early 2023 – after ten races, he had to hand over his AlphaTauri to Daniel Ricciardo.
A few weeks ago, Nyck de Vries won the constructor’s title in the endurance championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe. The title was secured during the very last race in Bahrain. Last weekend, however, he swapped the Toyota GR010 Hybrid for another racing car. The Frisian driver drove a few test meters in the MCL36, the Formula 1 car from McLaren from 2022. Reportedly, it was not a tire test with Pirelli, but a specially set up TPC test (Testing of Previous Cars).
Testing of Previous Cars
During these sessions, the various Formula 1 teams are allowed to test unlimitedly, provided they use cars that are at least two years old. Mercedes has used these practice sessions several times in recent months to test Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian drove in both the W12 from 2021 and the W13 from 2022.
It is unclear why Nyck de Vries was invited for a test with McLaren. Possibly, the Brits are looking for a new reserve driver, now that Gabriel Bortoleto is making the switch to Sauber. The Brazilian Formula 2 driver has been part of the training team in Woking since 2023. The 29-year-old De Vries was himself a McLaren pupil between 2010 and 2019.
