Nyck de Vries got some laps in McLaren’s MCL36 (Image: X: @LambeResing)
Former F1 driver Nyck de Vries has been spotted back behind the wheel during the current three-week break, though there remains a strong element of mystery surrounding his latest outing.
The Dutchman was picked up by ahead of the 2023 season and assigned to their sister team, , after a brilliant points-scoring result while filling in for at in the previous campaign.
De Vries rose through the ranks with many of the sport’s current big shots and he has a strong motorsports pedigree, but he wasn’t able to live his F1 dream for long, with pulling the plug and putting in his place just 10 races in.
More than a year on from De Vries’ painful blow, the 29-year-old has been spotted behind the wheel of an F1 car belonging to one of ‘s bitter rivals – .
is on course to win a fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship this season, but are set to be pipped by to the Constructors’ Championship, unless they execute a major turnaround in the final three Grands Prix of the year.
It may therefore sting for boss to see De Vries lending a helping hand to the papaya outfit at Circuit Paul Ricard, the former home of the French Grand Prix.
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Nyck de Vries was axed by VCARB after only 10 races (Image: Getty)
De Vries was spotted putting in the laps in ‘s 2022 car, the MCL36, in which circulated on social media. Mysteriously, the purpose of the test, and why De Vries was recruited for it, are both unclear.
It remains to be seen whether a vacancy opens up for De Vries somewhere in ‘s ranks – aside from the well-established driver line-up of and Oscar Piastri – given that junior driver and F2 star Gabriel Bartoleto has been snapped up by Sauber.
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De Vries admitted, after being axed by in double-quick time, that the end of his F1 journey was tough to stomach. “Of course it hurts that the F1 chance I dreamed of for so long ended prematurely,” he said. “But life is not a destination, it’s a journey, and sometimes you have to take the hard road to get where you want to be.
“I am grateful for our privileged lives, proud of our journey and my family. This is just another experience, we move on and look forward to the next chapter.”