Toto Wolff believes Nyck de Vries deserves a place on the Formula 1 grid and proved it with his performance at the Italian Grand Prix, both in qualifying and in the race.
The 28-year-old driver unexpectedly made his Formula 1 debut at Monza, with Williams after racing in Free 1s for Aston Martin. He thought his on-track action for the weekend was over but Williams had to call on him, the Mercedes F1 reserve, to replace Alex Albon after he developed appendicitis.
De Vries had 15 minutes to prepare for Free 3 and quickly beat Nicholas Latifi, in qualifying and in the race. That says a lot about the Dutchman’s talent according to his boss, Toto Wolff.
« Nyck was an official Mercedes driver until we stopped Formula E a few weeks ago and he won the championship for us, our first electric world championship. But we don’t have a management contract with him. , we have no influence on his career and we will not deduct anything from his future earnings. »
« That’s why I can say without any interest that Nyck deserves to have a place in F1. He showed it because of the limited experience he had at Williams. He was thrown into the deep end and he set a reference. »
« Niki (Lauda) would have taken his cap off for that. I think if one of the teams that still has a free spot doesn’t come and get him now, then I don’t understand the world anymore. »
De Vries was already on Williams’ shortlist to replace Latifi, after the failure of the Alpine-Williams deal to place Piastri (left for McLaren).
« He deserves this seat. I think we forget how dominant he was in F2. He was absolutely brilliant in his first Formula E championship when he won the championship. He knows how to be at the level of what a car is able to deliver. And quickly. »
De Vries’ debut saw two Dutchmen on the Monza grid, with the driver joining fellow countryman, reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
When asked if he thought Nyck’s performance was worth a F1 seat, Verstappen had a small tackle for Latifi.
« I didn’t see his weekend exactly what he did against Latifi, but I saw he was up front. Although that might not be the best benchmark…we we all know what Nyck can do. Nyck doesn’t win Formula E for nothing, there are also a lot of good drivers there. Sometimes you also need a little luck to get into Formula 1 at the right time. Everything must be a bit aligned. »
« It’s good for Nyck and in the end I think it was also a good place to join Williams. They were, of course, more competitive on the straights, like at Spa and to show off what better. . »
Will De Vries finally get his chance in 2023?
« You spend so much time traveling, as a reservist, and it never happens, so you almost lose track of it happening, and it obviously wasn’t even until Friday, but very late Saturday , it was at the very last minute. Maybe it was even better, because then you don’t have time to think, and you just have to go for it. »
«Now, of course I want more. But it’s not in my hands. I can just cross my fingers with it and sign a contract, that’s all! »
