From Pit Wall to GT3: James Vowles to Race Gulf 12 Hours in a McLaren

Short Excerpt: Williams F1 boss James Vowles will swap the pit wall for the cockpit at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, sharing a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo with Garage 59 only days after the 2025 F1 season finale.

Vowles Swaps Team Radio for Race Helmet in Abu Dhabi

Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles will return to racing at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, taking place on 14 December at the Yas Marina Circuit. Just one week after the 2025 Formula 1 season finale on the same track, Vowles will exchange his role on the pit wall for a driver’s seat in a McLaren GT3.

Garage 59 McLaren Line-up and Race Format

Vowles will share the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo with experienced GT drivers Alexander West, Marco Pulcini and Mark Sansom, forming a four-man crew targeting strong overall and Pro-Am honours. West is a former Pro-Am winner of the event, while Sansom and Pulcini arrive with recent form in International GT Open competition, giving Garage 59 a solid and well-balanced line-up.

The Gulf 12 Hours traditionally closes the GT season and uses a distinctive split format: an opening eight-hour segment, a two-hour break, then a final four-hour run, allowing fans to access the pit lane and meet teams in between. GT3 machinery, including McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche models, forms the core of the grid for the 15th edition.

Why Vowles Is Returning to the Cockpit

Vowles has a background in GT racing and previously competed with Garage 59 in the Asian Le Mans Series, also in McLaren GT3 machinery, around 2021–2022. In 2025 he completed a two-day test with Garage 59 at Circuito de Navarra in Spain in a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, which reignited his desire to race again after several years focused solely on F1 leadership.

“Getting back in the car reminds me what our drivers feel every lap. It’s a privilege to share a McLaren with Garage 59 at Yas Marina right after we wrap the F1 season.”

He has repeatedly stated that returning to the driver’s seat is both a personal passion and a way to stay connected to the racing experience his F1 drivers live every weekend, while Garage 59 has praised his professionalism and strategic understanding from his F1 background.

Balancing Williams Duties and Endurance Racing

Since taking over as Williams team principal in 2023, Vowles has overseen a significant rebuild, helping the Grove-based squad improve its competitive level and commercial strength. Entering the Gulf 12 Hours directly after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix allows him to remain on-site, closing the F1 season before immediately focusing on the endurance challenge.

The programme is framed as a one-off continuation of his GT3 involvement rather than a distraction from his F1 role, with Williams and Garage 59 positioning the outing as complementary to his broader motorsport activities.

A High-Profile Entry for the Gulf 12 Hours

The presence of a current F1 team boss on the entry list adds extra profile to the Gulf 12 Hours, which has grown into a key winter endurance event at Yas Marina. For McLaren and Garage 59, Vowles’ participation brings additional attention to the 720S GT3 Evo programme in a race already known for strong GT3 fields and international line-ups.

Fans can expect Vowles to face intense competition over the 12-hour split format, but his recent testing mileage and past GT experience suggest he will be more than just a guest name on the grid.