Nyck de Vries has been in contact with Williams and Alpine regarding a potential drive next season, and he has also confirmed that he went to see Dr Helmut Marko in Austria last week.
The Dutchman won the Formula 2 championship in 2019 ahead of current Williams driver, Nicholas Latifi, but it was the Canadian who got the Williams drive alongside George Russell in 2020.
De Vries has since contested Formula E, where he won the title in 2021, and he has been serving as Mercedes’ Formula 1 test and reserve driver in the meantime.
The 27-year-old completed a practice session in Spain with Williams this year, and again with Mercedes in France, before Aston Martin gave him a run in Monza last time out.
READ: Nyck de Vries meets with Helmut Marko to discuss 2023 Red Bull seat
He was then needed by Williams when Alex Albon was hit by appendicitis, and he out-qualified Latifi, before finishing ninth and scoring two championship points on his debut.
As free agents go, de Vries is one of the appealing a team could wish for, so there have been plenty of conversations lately.
One of those was rumoured to be with Dr Marko, Red Bull’s adviser, when they were allegedly seen meeting in Graz, and de Vries confirmed that meeting did indeed take place.
“I don’t quite know if I’m in such a luxury situation that I can choose,” said de Vries, as per Motorsport.com.
“Largely, that is beyond my control. I have been in talks with Williams for a long time and I was also able to make my debut there last weekend.
“That would be a logical step. Alpine I have been in contact with since July, and I will test for them in Budapest next week. I will fly there on Monday.
“And as the media had noticed yesterday, I went to Austria to meet Helmut Marko, those are the facts.”
At the moment, de Vries does not have a particular preference as to where he wants to race next year; he just wants to be in the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Wherever I can get a permanent seat, I would be very happy with that, we have to see how it will develop in the coming days and weeks,” he explained.
“As I said, it’s not entirely in my control, in this world not everything is about performance, but there is momentum now.
“That makes a difference, but it doesn’t guarantee a seat. We are not that far yet.”
The 27-year-old described the emotions of an outstanding weekend in Monza, during which he was asked to step in at extremely short notice.
“The weekend itself was fantastic and went by in a flash, it was a dream come true and we finished it successfully. What happened afterwards, I couldn’t really imagine,” added de Vries.
READ: Ex-F1 champion delivers damning Nicholas Latifi verdict
“On the Monday afternoon, I was back to reality myself fairly quickly, I’m busy with the future now.
“But all the messages and congratulations I received were very special, it’s nice to receive the support from everyone.”
Seats, at present, also remain available at Haas and Alfa Romeo, so there are still several drivers who need to impress in the final six rounds of the year to retain their place.