What options does Nyck de Vries have after show-stealing F1 debut?
De Vries starred on his F1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing ninth after being a last-minute replacement for Alex Albon, who is suffering with appendicitis.
He out-qualified teammate Nicholas Latifi before comfortably finishing inside the top 10 at Monza with P9 at the chequered flag.
The 2019 F2 champion’s future has been a topic of discussion over the past 12 months.
He was linked with a drive at Williams for this year but lost out to Alex Albon, while de Vries has been rumoured to still be in the frame to drive for the Grove outift, potentially replacing Latifi in the 2023 driver line-up.
It is understood that de Vries is on Alpine’s 14-man shortlist to replace Fernando Alonso, particularly if they’re unable to work a deal with AlphaTauri to sign Pierre Gasly.
“Well it obviously helps,” de Vries said. “It is an opportunity. Someone else’s misfortune became my fortune. That’s why I am so grateful it turned out well and we took the opportunity.
“In this world, not everything is based on merit and there are more factors that play a role in deciding a line up. I am glad that I think I showed a little bit of myself this weekend.”
De Vries conceded that any decision is ‘out of his hands’ but reiterated that he was grateful to make the most of his one-off opportunity at Monza.
“No and it’s out of my hands,” he added. “Obviously I am not entitled to decide any driver line ups so that's not up to me. Again, I am just very grateful and happy that I took this opportunity, that I was able to live this moment.
“My Dad, by coincidence, was in Monaco in my little place so he took someone else’s car to drive down and I saw him this morning and we couldn’t even talk as we started to cry. I just gave him a kiss and went, and he was at the grid. Just grateful we were able to witness this as a family we worked and lived for this for many years. Again, no one is able to take this from us so I am just a happy man.”
De Vries has been Mercedes reserve driver since 2021 after signing for their Formula E team the year before.
His performance at Monza received plaudits from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
Wolff said: “I think, what else should he do in terms of performance than what he has shown today? No training, [he] jumped in a car that he hadn’t driven, straight into FP3. Yeah, it showed what he’s capable of doing.”
“Oh, incredibly happy for Nyck, and really proud of him,” Hamilton added. ” He’s such a good lad, a good human, he’s been a good part of our team working with us. I hope Albon is OK, I know he’s gone through a hard weekend, but for Nyck to have jumped in and finish in the top ten in his first race, that’s mega for your first race since ages.”
