Nyck de Vries could be on his way back into the Formula 1 paddock after a strong showing in a recent McLaren test.
The 29-year-old Dutchman, who has a long history with McLaren dating back to his junior career, tested a two-year-old McLaren at Paul Ricard last week.
De Vries rose to his most recent prominence as Mercedes' reserve driver in 2022, famously filling in for Alex Albon at Monza and delivering an impressive debut performance. This earned him a seat at Alpha Tauri for 2023, but he was outperformed by Yuki Tsunoda and replaced mid-season by Daniel Ricciardo.
Since then, de Vries has competed in Formula E, WEC, and Super Formula, but McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed in Las Vegas that the Dutchman is under consideration for a key role at McLaren in 2025. The potential opportunity comes as Gabriel Bortoleto departs for Audi.
"It went very well," Brown told Viaplay about de Vries' test. "You know he has a long history with McLaren, of course. He started with us right at the beginning of his career.
"We are now going through our TPC (testing of previous car) program to evaluate a few drivers and Nyck is one of those drivers."
Brown further elaborated on McLaren's goals. "We are looking for simulator drivers, test drivers, and drivers for tyre testing. Unfortunately, they haven't asked me to do it," he joked. "Luckily, Nyck is a great talent. We wanted to get to know him again and he did a really good job. So we'll see what happens."
When pressed on when more details about de Vries' future with McLaren might emerge, Brown concluded: "Probably at the end of the year."
