De Vries starts next to Verstappen: "Max will probably win it"

Nyck de Vries is looking forward to his F1 debut on Sunday at the Italian Grand Prix. Prior to the race, the Dutchman says he dreams of scoring a World Cup point. However, the driver from Sneek knows that it will be a challenge, especially because of the limited preparation time.

"A little bit of course, but on the other hand there was also a lot of work to prepare for what is to come," says De Vries when asked by Viaplay if he already has some idea of what a special moment this is. On Saturday, De Vries only heard that he would be replacing Alexander Albon an hour and a half before the start of the third free practice session.

The past twelve hours have been very busy for the 27-year-old driver. "There are actually a lot of things I'm not used to doing. I am always here, but we are mainly focused on doing a lap as fast as possible and all the peripheral issues that come with a race are less important. We had to focus a bit more on that now," he explains.

De Vries and Verstappen on the fourth row of the grid

De Vries will start from eighth on the grid, alongside Max Verstappen. He has been in contact with his fellow countryman through the app. "Max is probably going to win it, at least he is fighting with Charles. We try to make a good start and bring the car home whole. Maybe dream of a point. The first goal is to get through the first lap, build your race from there and find the rhythm."