He was already a candidate at Williams and will test for Alpine next week, but Nyck de Vries is now also high on Alpha Tauri’s wish list. ,,A secure seat? It’s not that far yet, but luckily there is momentum and there is room on the grid.”
By Arjan Schouten
After an unparalleled debut with even two World Cup points in Monza, Nyck de Vries’ chances of an F1 adventure seem to have increased considerably. The 27-year-old driver from Sneek can look forward to the interest of at least three formations. It is no surprise that he is on the British Williams radar. As a replacement for the sick Alexander Albon, he played in Italy have a wonderful weekend and earlier this season he was already active in free practice for Williams, where there are logical links with Mercedes, where De Vries is active as a reserve driver.
On Monday, the Dutchman will also fly to Budapest to test at the Hungaroring for the French Alpine, with which he has been in talks since June. After the departure of Fernando Alonso, the French still have to fill the seat next to Esteban Ocon. And with Alpha Tauri, a third player has now entered the battle for the Dutchman. ,,As the media had already noticed, I had a conversation with Helmut Marko this week in Graz about the future. Those are the facts,” confirmed De Vries himself tonight in Humberto tan’s talk show at RTL4.
Why De Vries suddenly also in the picture with the sister team of Red Bull Racing? Because the musical chairs of silly season are completely open again, now that Alpha Tauri’s flirtation with American Indy driver Colton Herta is finally off the track, due to a lack of super license points. At Alpha Tauri, Pierre Gasly would like to leave for the French Alpine and Herta was the intended replacement. Instead of Herta, a contract would now be ready for De Vries.
De Vries did not want to confirm on RTL4 that he is already assured of a seat. ,,I don’t know if I’m in such a luxurious situation where I can literally choose, it’s largely beyond my control. And because this sport isn’t all about performance, I can’t insure anything. But luckily there is momentum and there is room on the grid. There are opportunities and possibilities. Wherever I could achieve a permanent seat, I am very pleased with that. But we are not that far yet.”
De Vries often flirted with a Formula 1 seat. The former Formula 2 champion won the world championship in Formula E on behalf of Mercedes last year, after which he was clearly in the picture for an F1 seat. However, Alfa Romeo then opted for the wealthy Chinese Guanyu Zhou. This winter, however, De Vries’ papers seem much better, especially with an excellent practice exercise on Monza on his resume.
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