Max Verstappen seems to have sparked the ‘GT virus’ in the F1 paddock after the Dutchman competed in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Series to get his category A license for the Nordschleife.

To do so, he had to drive a rebuilt Porsche Cayman GT4. But not only the Red Bull driver took a GT car onto the track in the gap between the Italian and Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Williams team principal James Vowles decided to put a McLaren 720s GT3 EVO through its paces. To do so, the Briton travelled to the Circuito de Navarra in Los Arcos, Spain.

The McLaren GT3 is a ferocious beast. The 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine propels the car with around 740 hp, good for a top speed of around 340 km/h.

Vowles shared a photo on Instagram in racing attire with the caption: “Spent a fantastic two days at the Circuito de Navarra in Spain. Mostly dry and a great technical circuit. I was driving a McLaren 720s GT3 Evo with Garage59. It was great to be back with a team that I have a strong history with. 

“I was rusty to start, it’s been a few years out of a GT3 but very happy with where we ended up after two days of testing. 

“I had to hang up most of my engineering brain and focus on driving – and loved every second…”

The question now is who will be the next driver or team boss to step into a GT3 car? The candidate pool seems to be growing thanks to the renewed popularity of the class. 

View James Vowles’ Instagram posts below, including onboard images.