One of the fairy tales of 2023 is the landing of Nyck de Vries from minor formulas to Formula 1, with a passage in the Formula E World Championship where he won the title in the seventh season. Let's take a look at his story in recent years and how the dream of a seat in 2023 materialized.
Formula E: three dream seasons for the Dutchman
After winning the Formula 2 title in 2019, the Dutchman from the Mercedes academy found himself without a possible outlet in Formula 1. During the weekend of the 2019 Italian Grand Prix I had the pleasure of interviewing him, and in that On occasion he admitted to having plans for the future, but without making them explicit. All this was resolved with the entry of Mercedes into the world of Formula E, where they fielded a line-up made up of Stoffel vandoorne and indeed de Vries. In their first year, despite the break due to COVID, the team immediately proved to be competitive, with two podiums in the first two races for Vandoorne and a victory in the last race of the season. de Vries ended 2020 with a second place in the same race, setting the stage for the following seasons.
2021 was the year of success for the Dutchman, who took just two wins in the season and suffered multiple retirements – four races out of fifteen, but thanks to similar bad luck for his opponents and better consistency throughout the season, de Vries captured the series' first world title – which until 2019-20 was a championship comparable to Formula 2.
2022: the debut in Formula 1 and the 2023 contract
The 2021-22 season was not as successful for de Vries, who similarly took two victories but finished the championship with two retirements and a ninth place finish. However, 2022 had much more in store for the Dutchman: thanks to the rookie free practice rule in the season, in fact, three teams used him to fulfill the requirements. In particular, Williams was able to use him as a reserve driver during the Italian Grand Prix, when Alex Albon had to give up for appendicitis. On that occasion, de Vries showed off, conquering the debut ninth position e colon, the first points not scored by Alex Albon.
That performance immediately propelled him into the limelight, with various teams interested in signing him. Williams had been rumored for him, as well as Alpine who tested it with other pilots to evaluate him as a replacement for the departing Fernando Alonso, but the final contract has arrived for Alpha Tauri, putting him under contract for the 2023 in place of Pierre Gasly, leaving right for Alpine to replace Alonso. All the tiles have therefore fallen into place, and we can't wait to find out what the "little" Dutchman will be able to do in his first full season in Formula 1.
