Lewis Hamilton’s backup, Nyck de Vries, has broken his silence after joining Red Bull’s sister squad Alpha Tauri. De Vries ditched Mercedes for their arch rivals junior team to secure a full-time F1 drive for next season.
He explained: “I never really gave up on my dream to become a Formula One driver and I’m very very grateful to finally get the opportunity and fulfill a childhood dream. I will grab this opportunity with both hands and make sure I make you all proud.
“I would like to thank Mercedes for their support in the past seasons and of course, I would like to thank Red Bull and Scuderia Alpha Tauri for the opportunity to race in F1 next year.”
It comes after the Dutchman starred on his F1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix last month after replacing Alex Albon for one race. The former F2 star picked up points on his debut while Nicholas Latifi struggled to P15.
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1, De Vries added: “The silly season was already ongoing for quite some time and I think the timing of Monza was very fortunate. All the stars aligned and everything came together and it brought us here.”
De Vries replaced Hamilton in FP1 at the French Grand Prix and was tipped to replace the seven-time champion if he walked away from the sport. World Touring Car star Tom Coronel even described De Vries as Toto Wolff’s “insurance policy”.
The Mercedes boss backed De Vries talents but conceded earlier in the summer that the team would need to let him go if they were unable to offer him an exciting F1 project. After his performance at Monza, Wolff said he “won’t understand the world” if De Vries did not earn a full-time drive for 2023.
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De Vries’ move to the Red Bull-backed squad was made possible after Pierre Gasly switched to Alpine, Both announcements were made on Saturday morning just hours before the start of qualifying.
Alpha Tauri team principal Franz Tost commented: “We are pleased to start a new chapter with Nyck, who’s very much welcome at Scuderia AlphaTauri. He is a very highly 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.”
