Nyck de Vries makes his Formula 1 debut at the age of 28, and while he might come with more experience than the average rookie, he believes he is still one nonetheless.
De Vries made headlines in 2022 when he stood in for Williams’ Alex Albon who had to have an urgent surgery for appendicitis on the eve of the 2022 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The then Mercedes reserve driver made it look so easy as he drove for Aston Martin in practice that weekend before being called into Williams less the 24 hours later for the real deal, qualifying for and racing in an F1 grand prix; which he tackled superbly qualifying into Q2, and scoring points after starting the race from eight place due to grid penalties for other drivers. He was ninth when the chequered flag was waved.
That made the Formula 2 and Formula E Champion a highly desirable driver in the F1 paddock, but following the advice of fellow countryman and pal, Max Verstappen, to give Dr. Helmut Marko a call, which he duly did; De Vries landed a decent F1 seat at AlphaTauri, the one vacated by the Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly.
Attending the livery launch of AlphaTauri’s AT04, the car he will be driving in 2023, De Vries highlighted what he looks forward to the most on his debut season.
An opportunity to live the dream
He said: “First of all, to get the opportunity to live my dream, but equally to be very excited and motivated to perform and to deliver.
“I think partly because my journey has been slightly unusual and longer, I’m even more grateful for the opportunity, more motivated to grab it and hungrier to show what I’m worth.”
However, De Vries is keeping his feet despite having some extensive racing experience; he admitted: “I would say I’m still a rookie.
“Of course, I had the privilege of driving many different cars, but I think the benefits of that are not so much down to the track time, because actually that was very limited,” he explained.
“I think having experience to have worked with different teams in different environments will bring a lot of value, but in terms of pure track and race time, I reckon I have less than this year’s other rookies [McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, 21, and Williams’ Logan Sargeant, 22].
“However, I am a bit older and I’ve had the opportunity to race in different championships so that is a level of experience that brings some value,” De Vries concluded.
Next up for De Vries; driving the AT04 at Bahrain pre-season testing between February 23 and 25.
launching during New York Fashion Week ? ? pic.twitter.com/1dG3OJrHlz
— Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) February 12, 2023