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De Vries honest about great career: But everything was about F1

De Vries honest about great career: "But everything was about F1"

27-11-2022 07:33 Last update: 08:31
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GPblog.com

Nyck de Vries will drive for AlphaTauri next year. The Friesian was a guest on the RTL4 talk show Renze on Saturday night to look ahead to his debut in Formula 1.

De Vries was allowed to board Alexander Albon's car at the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix. During his foray, international media were impressed by what the Dutchman showed in the Williams. Indeed, he managed to finish the weekend with two World Cup points and became Driver of the Day. Reason enough for several Formula 1 teams to keep De Vries in their sights. After many interests, it was AlphaTauri who were keen on a coveted seat for the Dutchman, and the contract was quickly signed. Pierre Gasly would make the move from AlphaTauri to Alpine. There he will succeed Fernando Alonso, who in turn will leave for Aston Martin. This means there will be two Dutchmen within the Red Bull Racing family driving Formula 1 next season.

Career

After the 2018 Formula 2 season, George Russell, Lando Norris, and Alexander Albon were promoted to Formula 1, but De Vries was left as number four in the championship. A year later, the driver from Friesland still grabbed the Formula 2 title, but then it turned out there was no F1 seat available. He opted for an appointment with Mercedes in Formula E, where he also became champion. In between Formula E commitments, De Vries also competed several times with Racing Team Nederland in several races in the World Endurance Championship. The team's first victory came at the 6 Hours of Fuji in the LMP2 class. De Vries brought the car across the finish line in the last stint.

De Vries looks back on his career in conversation with Renze Klamer, but it is clear that he had a different goal in mind while also being aware that in Formula 1 they almost never need a reserve driver. "But everything was about F1 - I had been travelling to F1 races for two years, for nothing ," he said. Until a phone call came after talking to Mercedes about his future: "So I thought, 'That's very quick'. But then they said, 'No really, now'. Then I was sent to Williams. I didn't know I would drive the whole weekend. I heard that then."