Manager De Vries: 'They didn't make that mistake with Nyck'

Guillaume Le Goff, Nyck de Vries's manager, told Motorsport.com expressed his appreciation to the Dutch fans. Le Goff has been De Vries' manager since the end of last year, after it was announced that the Dutchman will drive at AlphaTauri.

For a long time, De Vries did not need a manager. Because he was first in McLaren' s training programme and then part of the Mercedes family, there was no need for him to have his own manager. Nevertheless, Le Goff and De Vries have now known each other for over a decade: since 2012, De Vries regularly visited the simulator that Le Goff owned at the time.

Meanwhile, Le Goff works as the manager of several drivers, including Pierre Gasly. This puts him in a strong position to manage De Vries, as he is already well known within AlphaTauri's organisation. However, the Frenchman does stress that he played no part in the musical chairs that placed Gasly with Alpine and De Vries with AlphaTauri: his collaboration with the Dutchman came only after De Vries was confirmed with the team.

Kudos to the Dutch fans

Le Goff is pleased to see that De Vries was welcomed with open arms by the Dutch public, despite the driver's unusual career path. Even before De Vries got a permanent seat in Formula 1, he could count on a lot of support from his home country. " The appreciation of the general public often only comes when the drivers make it to Formula 1," explains Le Goff. "The Dutch public did not make that mistake with Nyck. I thought that was very nice to see."

How well De Vries will do is still unclear. AlphaTauri had a pretty mediocre year last season, finishing only ninth among constructors. Podiums are therefore unlikely for De Vries, but the Dutchman can prove himself in other ways, according to his manager. "The three things that are important for Nyck in his first year: being consistent, not crashing and being at least as good as your teammate," Le Goff lists.