Did De Vries deserve a place in F1 before? 'Never understood'

Franz Tost never understood why Nyck de Vries was not yet part of Formula 1. Although the Dutchman has won both Formula 2 and Formula E in the past, no team from the motorsport class dared to take him on. The team boss of AlphaTauri is therefore proud that his team offers a solution for De Vries, he told The Race.

For De Vries, his opportunity in the Italian Grand Prix seemingly came at exactly the right time. As a replacement for Alexander Albon, Max Verstappen's compatriot was given the opportunity to show himself in a race and did so in a positive way. For Tost, it was confirmation that AlphaTauri needed to bring De Vries to the racing stable.

"I’ve known Nyck de Vries since karting days and I never understood why he isn’t in Formula 1," he reveals. "Because if you saw how he won the karting European Championship and the World Championship in 2010 and 2011, it was really unbelievable for me."

As Pierre Gasly's successor, quite a challenge awaits De Vries. The Frenchman managed to achieve a consistent level in recent years at AlphaTauri, bringing in a lot of points for his team.

Tost is convinced that De Vries will also reach a high level. "I’m convinced if you can provide him with a good car that he will show real good races because he is very professional, focused and has a good technical understanding."