Nyck de Vries could be about to set on of Formula One’s more unusual records, with the Dutchman on call to drive for his fifth team of the season.
The 27-year-old stepped in to Alex Albon’s Williams in Monza and impressively scored points and beat Nicholas Latifi, he has also driven in practice sessions for Mercedes and Aston Martin, and finally he has driven an Alpine car in an earlier trial.
It could become five this weekend as McLaren have confirmed that de Vries is on hand to cover for Lando Norris, who is suffering with suspected food poisoning, should the Brit not be able to take part in Saturday and Sunday’s races.
Norris is currently set to take part in Friday’s qualifying session, with the sprint race meaning that the usual Saturday session has been moved forward a day.
READ: Lewis Hamilton admits Sebastian Vettel sadness
De Vries became a hot property in Formula 1 back in Monza after his stunning debut performance.
The Dutchman only found out that he would have to substitute for Albon minutes before the final practice session, with the Thai driver suffering from appendicitis and having to undergo surgery.
De Vries then stormed his way to a points scoring finish, which is no easy feat in a Williams car that usually finds itself near the back of the grid, and was subject to serious interest from both Williams and AlphaTauri for a full time race seat in 2023, with the 27-year-old choosing the latter to replace the Alpine bound Pierre Gasly.
READ: Lewis Hamilton tipped to finish below George Russell
McLaren confirmed earlier this week that Norris would miss media day on Thursday, as he chose to remain in his hotel room after feeling unwell, leading the team from Woking scrambling to see which reserve driver could be on hand if needed.
Eventually it was confirmed that de Vries was present in Brazil and McLaren’s favoured choice of personnel should they need to look for an alternative to Norris.
De Vries will be over the moon to be racing in F1 with AlphaTauri next year, after the dream may have been starting to fade for the 27-year-old, who has been made to wait for his chance since winning the F2 championship all the way back in 2019, having to race in Formula E, which he also won in 2020/21.