De Vries lands full-time F1 drive with AlphaTauri for 2023
De Vries will partner Yuki Tsunoda next year after Red Bull secured his services in order to replace Gasly, who has been released from his contract to join Alpine next season.
The 27-year-old Dutchman was thrust into the limelight when he made a shock F1 debut with Williams as a late stand-in for the unwell Alex Albon at Monza.
Outperforming Nicholas Latifi and scoring points with a stunning drive in Italy helped him land a full-time drive for next year.
Several teams including Williams and Alpine expressed an interest in de Vries, but it was Red Bull who got their man, signing the F2 and Formula E champion to complete their sister team’s driver line-up for F1 2023.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023” said de Vries, who has made practice outings for Williams, Mercedes and Aston Martin in 2022. "I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1.
"After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it. I’ve had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season, I hope this has helped to prepare me for what is to come.
"Having spent most of my teenage years in Italy for karting, I’ve always felt at home there, so for me it’s great to be joining an Italian team, that already has a real family feel, and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and to start to build our relationship before the next season.”
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost paid tribute to the departing Gasly and is convinced his side has a very strong replacement in de Vries.
“Scuderia AlphaTauri had a very successful time with Pierre," said Tost. "We will never forget his fantastic victory in Monza and his podium finishes in Brazil and Azerbaijan. I want to thank Pierre for all the effort he’s put into the team in the last years, and I wish him all the best for his future.
“Now, we are pleased to start a new chapter with Nyck, who’s very much welcome at Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is a very high skilled driver, as he won in all the categories he competed in, with many races and championships under his belt.
"His last big success was winning the Formula E World Championship, and this is clear evidence that he is a very competitive driver, who deserves a seat in F1.
"I am looking forward to seeing him in our car and I’m confident that with Yuki and Nyck we will have a very strong driver line up for 2023.”
With AlphaTauri's driver line-up now complete, there are two remaining seats left on the 2023 grid - at Williams and Haas.
