De Vries kept believing in F1 despite four rejections: 'That was enough'

Nyck de Vries got into Formula 1 via a diversion after an unexpected performance at the Italian Grand Prix. The brand-new AlphaTauri driver admits he almost didn't see it happening himself either, but he never gave up hope completely.

At a time when F1 seemed like a bygone stage for De Vries, he was suddenly on display in an F1 car more than once in 2022. He even set a record by having been in action on behalf of five different teams in a season: Mercedes, Aston Martin, Williams, Alpine and AlphaTauri.

The 27-year-old Dutchman admits that he believed more not than he did that he would make it to the king class of motorsport yet. At the same time, he was satisfied with what he did have, but besides that, he also clung to that small glimmer of hope that was still there.

De Vries kept believing in F1

"It wasn't that I had a lot of frustration and that's also been the reason why I was always able to do it all with a lot of pleasure and motivation, because I was very happy with what I did have," De Vries says in conversation with DAY1.

On the other hand, it was also not always easy for him to be present at a GP weekend as a reserve driver without being allowed to step in himself. "You are so close and so far away," he continued. The Formula 2 and Formula E champion admits there were days when he almost lost hope, but he did not give up. "Deep down, I always kept a certain faith, despite being rejected four times in the last year," he said.

By this he is referring, among other things, to winning the F2 title, after which Formula 1 had no place for him. "In 2021, I was allowed to win the Formula E championship, then we were very close but didn't succeed either," De Vries continued. Nevertheless, he always remained in talks with several F1 teams. "That little bit of hope was enough to keep the belief and the drive and not give up," he said.