Who is Nyck de Vries?
Carting
What all Formula One drivers have in common is that they start karting at a young age. So too for Nyck de Vries. Nyck, who hails from Friesland, made his debut in 2006 and not much later he was already able to put his first championships to his name, even at European level. Drivers like Sebastian Vettel, George Russel, Alexander Albon and Lando Norris have also managed to win this European championship. So racing Nyck can do. McLaren saw that too, who included him in their talent program from then on.
Formula racing
From 2012, Nyck de Vries can be found in single-seaters. He begins his career in Formula Renault 2.0, which over the years has become the springboard for motorsport anyway. In his first race weekend, the Dutchman even managed to finish second, behind Daniil Kvyat and ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, familiar names in racing. In the end, he finished fifth in the standings in his debut year. In 2014 he became champion in this class, taking the podium no less than ten times in the total 14 races, five of which were on the top step.
Formula Renault 3.5
That championship earned him a seat at DAMS, a team in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Not a missable class with cars boasting 530 hp on just 600 kg. In this class he raced against, among others, Nicholas Latifi, currently a driver at Williams in F1. Nyck did not perform without merit in this class with a third place in the championship at the end of his first season.
GP3
In 2016, de Vries competed in the GP3 Series, now known as Formula 3. Here he drove for the French ART Grand Prix and formed a team with Alexander Albon and Charles Leclerc. A good team, because in the team classification it beat the number two by twice as many points. Leclerc became champion that year, Albon finished second. Nyck had to settle for sixth place.
GP2
Yet a year later he was already driving a class higher, in GP2 (now Formula 2) and doing so for two teams. The first half of the season for Rapax, where he managed to win the race in Monaco, among others. The second half for Racing Engineering. Leclerc also became champion in this class, earning a seat in Formula 1.
Nyck does stay in Formula 2 in 2018, but is not in top form that year. Perhaps it had something to do with the competition. Indeed, he finishes the season fourth, behind George Russell, Lando Norris and Albon. He decides to continue racing in Formula 2 again in 2019, with Nikita Mazepin being his new teammate. It turns out to be a great season for Nyck, as he becomes champion in Formula 2.
Endurance racing
Although a championship in Formula 2 often leads to a seat or position as a test driver in Formula 1, it remains eerily quiet around the Dutchman. To still be able to race, he decides to sign with Racing Team Nederland in 2018, which competes in the LMP2 class in the WEC Edurance Championship. Nyck is helping the team, which includes founders Jan Lammers and Jumbo boss Frits van Eerd, to capture the team’s first ever victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji.
A year later, de Vries was presented at GAZOO Racing as a test and reserve driver in the Toyota factory team’s LMP1 car. He will therefore drive a class higher in the same championship, but unfortunately de Vries does not really drive much. Yet he receives an offer from an unexpected source.
Mercedes-Benz
Because after years of cooperation, Nyck de Vries had to leave McLaren’s talent program. The Formula 1 team of Mercedes likes the arrival of the Dutchman and is angling for the driver. Admittedly not for a seat in F1, but as part of a group of simulator drivers. He can combine this perfectly with his role as reserve driver at Toyota.
Formula E
Meanwhile, the Mercedes brand participates in Formula E, the racing class featuring electric formula cars. In the second season that Mercedes is active in Formula E, Nyck is presented as a regular driver. He will thus become teammate of Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne. The following year, in the 2020-2021 season, de Vries will become champion of the electric racing class on the last race day of the season.
formula 1
In 2022, the time had finally come for Nyck de Vries to debut in an official Formula One race weekend. During the first free practice session in Spain, the Dutchman was allowed to do a test session in Albon’s Williams, giving him the opportunity to get used to the new type of F1 car. A few weeks later, de Vries took a seat in Hamilton’s Mercedes during free practice in France. At Monza in Italy, the Dutchman will once again get to drive an F1 car. This time in the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel, who has indicated that he will quit at the end of the season.
Seat at Williams?
Toward the end of a racing season, an exciting period begins for drivers. Driver contracts expire or disappointing results are punished by teams after which they look for a (better) alternative for their current drivers. The latter seems to be underway at Williams. Rumor has it that Nicholas Latifi has lost his spot after this season. His successor would be none other than Nyck de Vries. Completely out of the blue, this rumor does not come, after all Mercedes is technical partners of Williams. In addition, Nyck de Vries received high praise for his performance during free practice for the team. Nyck can also be found next to big boss Toto Wolff in the pit box almost every race, so things seem to be going well with that relationship as well. It remains to be seen if de Vries will actually get the seat. In any case, it would be nice if we could watch two Dutchmen in the king class of racing!