De Vries wants to enter top five with AlphaTauri: 'Absolutely not satisfied'

The Formula 1 grid counts no less than two Dutch drivers next season. Besides Max Verstappen, Nyck de Vries will also be competing in Grands Prix. In an interview with Renze on RTL 4, the new AlphaTauri driver talks about the dream coming true.

De Vries acknowledges that he owes his move to Formula 1 not only to his work ethic, but that his family also played an important role. For instance, his father supported him for years to realise his dream. Should he not have made it to Formula 1, however, De Vries was convinced that his family would have continued to stand behind him.

"Guilt is not the right word. They would always be proud of me," De Vries stressed. "Now it's really nice. I'm grateful to give this back to everyone who put so much time into me. There were also plenty of people who never believed in it. We never stopped believing in it. Maybe not a hundred percent, but we didn't give up."

De Vries on challenge at AlphaTauri

At AlphaTauri, quite a challenge awaits him next year. The team experienced a difficult season with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda this year, so it will have to work hard to make a step up in the rankings. De Vries is confident that AlphaTauri will succeed.

"The team finished ninth last year. Absolutely not satisfied with that. It wasn't a very good year, whereas before it often finished in the top five. So this winter we want to make as much progress as possible and still get to the top five. The car will determine whether the top five is realistic."