Nyck de Vries has revealed Max Verstappen put doubts in his mind about staying at Mercedes after his F1 debut last season. The Dutchman admitted he was “still perceived” as a Mercedes driver despite not racing in F1 for the Silver Arrows.
He had competed with the German marque in Formula E and taken part in F1 test sessions but never raced for the team. De Vries realized he had to “make clear” that he was only contracted to the team until the end of the season with his motorsport future looking uncertain.
De Vries said: “We had dinner together on the Monday night to kind of celebrate his win and celebrate my debut. So it’s nice to kind of share that moment with him. We obviously talked about the future and opportunities. And I think the most important [thing]I took away from that dinner was that I was still very much perceived publicly as a Mercedes driver, which I was up until the end of ’22.
“I think it was important for me to clarify that I was part of Mercedes until the end of ’22. So I think it was good for me to basically make my situation clear in order not to miss out on potential opportunities.
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The pair held talks in Austria after the race weekend and his move was confirmed after Pierre Gasly moved to Alpine. Verstappen explained: “We had a dinner the day after Monza, and I told him, just give [Marko] a call, you never know what happens.
“It was also the right time to call him. Helmut is probably still excited on a Monday from the race on a Sunday. It worked out well, and I’m very happy for him.”
