11-race F1 driver Lewis Hamilton once called ‘mega’ spotted doing private McLaren run in France

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The Formula 1 grid for 2025 is almost complete and arguably the team with the lineup that’s most set in stone going forward is McLaren.

Lando Norris still has an outside chance of winning the Drivers’ Championship heading into the final three races of the season.

His teammate Oscar Piastri has performed admirably during his second full F1 campaign and the pair could deliver McLaren’s first team championship this century.

The pair are so secure in their seats that they’ve managed to have an impact on the driver’s market this year.

Gabriel Bortoleto will join Sauber in 2025 as despite being in a strong position to win back-to-back F3 and F2 championships, there’s no space for him at McLaren and won’t be for some time.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t space for other drivers to drive their cars.

Mick Schumacher tested a McLaren earlier this season, as a Mercedes-backed driver, the connection between the teams due to a shared power unit earned the German a rare outing in their car.

Now, an Instagram post from Mr.Crash_Live_Photographer has spotted another former F1 driver in a papaya car.

Pictures were shared of former Williams and AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries driving the McLaren at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

Nyck de Vries spotted running McLaren F1 car at the Circuit Paul Ricard

Very few details are known about the run which appears to be in McLaren’s 2022 F1 car.

De Vries was a member of McLaren’s Young Driver Programme for nine seasons after initially being signed in 2010.

He was released in 2019 after winning the Formula 2 title and then won the Formula E championship in 2020-21.

When Alex Albon fell ill at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, De Vries was handed the chance to make his F1 debut.

He did brilliantly, scoring two points that saw him finish level with Nicholas Latifi in the Drivers’ Championship that year.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

After his debut with Williams, Hamilton said to Sky Sports F1: “Incredibly happy for Nyck, I’m really proud of him.

“He’s such a good lad, a good human, and he’s been a good part of our team working with us.

“For Nyck to have jumped in and finished in the top 10, that’s mega for your first race.”

Max Verstappen echoed Hamilton’s thoughts that day and said: “For Nyck to jump in and deliver this performance is definitely not easy at all.

“I think he did a great job from the things I saw, also in terms of defending.

“He just kept his cool, didn’t make mistakes and I’m very happy for him to score the points. It’s impressive, of course, in your first race.”

Why Nyck de Vries’ F1 career didn’t go to plan after impressive Williams debut

De Vries acted as reserve and test driver for McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin in 2022.

However, AlphaTauri spotted an opportunity to bring him in after his debut when they knew Pierre Gasly was joining Alpine.

Given his pedigree in F2 and Formula E, De Vries was expected to be stiff competition for teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

READ MORE: Christian Horner was ‘never convinced’ by driver Helmut Marko pushed RB to sign

Unfortunately, halfway through the campaign, it was clear he wasn’t at the same level as the Japanese driver.

Daniel Ricciardo impressed Red Bull in a private test that summer and team principal Christian Horner didn’t hesitate to make the swap.

While that never led to a return to the senior Red Bull team for Ricciardo, it meant De Vries’ F1 career came to an end after just 11 Grand Prix and with those two points he scored for Williams the only thing he had to show for it.