The Formula 1 dream looked all but dead for Nyck de Vries in 2022, as no team had decided to take a gamble on the Dutchman despite the fact that he has previously won the Formula 2 and Formula E titles.
This all changed for De Vries in Monza however, as the Dutchman was drafted in to replace Alex Albon just hours before FP3, as the Thai driver has been admitted to hospital after it was confirmed he was suffering from appendicitis.
The 27-year-old went on to make it through to Q2 and score points in an uncompetitive Williams, stunning the paddock and making him hot property while teams continued to sort their 2023 driver lineups.
Mercedes did not stand in the way of their reserve driver’s move to Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri, as they understood that the Dutchman had earned his chance in F1 and it would be unfair to hold him back.
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The dynamic in the team will be interesting this season, as 27-year-old rookie De Vries will be paired with 22-yaer-old Yuki Tsunoda, who is entering his third season with the team.
Despite question marks over who will step up to a more senior role in the absence of Pierre Gasly, De Vries has expressed his confidence of forming a strong partnership with Tsunoda, revealing that he has been a fan of the Japanese driver ever since his F2 days.
“When he was in Formula 2, I was one of his biggest supporters. He’s obviously an entertaining young guy and he’s not afraid to speak his opinion. I enjoy watching him,” De Vries told Beyond the Grid.
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“He’s very talented and very quick. I’m sure we’ll have a great time together and I look forward to be joining him. It’ll be the first time in my career I’ll have a smaller teammate than me, but we still have the same shoe size!”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed that his former reserve driver has the potential to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull in the future and has explained that he would look forward to battling De Vries should he ever make the move to the Red Bull senior team.
De Vries has been friends will Verstappen for some time now, often being spotted speaking to his fellow countryman at race weekends, meaning that a move to partner the 25-year-old would not be off the cards, should De Vries perform for AlphaTauri.