Williams believes Nyck de Vries deserves a place in Formula 1

The Williams team was happy with the work done by Nyck de Vries during free practice 1 of the Spanish Grand Prix. According to Dave Robson, the performance director, the Dutchman is one of the drivers on the list to get a seat in Formula 1 next year.

Published on 03/06/2022 à 18:18

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Williams believes Nyck de Vries deserves a place in Formula 1

Nyck de Vries deserves a place in Formula 1 next season. © Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI

Although he only completed one free practice session in Formula 1 this season, Nyck de Vries has lived up to the expectations of Williams. In Catalonia, the world champion of Formula E, had replaced Alexander albon for FP1 of the Spanish Grand Prix in the Thai's FW44. With 28 laps on the clock, the Grove team was very satisfied with the Dutchman's performance.

« His rhythm was there. His ability to understand the tire and do the exit lap correctly was truly impressive, said for F1, Dave Robson, Head of Performance at Williams. And then after that, his feedback after the session was extremely good. He made some very helpful comments on the balance of the car, which matched pretty well with what we heard from both racing drivers. »

This was not the first time that the pilot affiliated with Mercedes got into a car in Formula 1. Last December, during the Abu Dhabi tests, Nyck De Vries stood out at the wheel of one of the Silver Arrows. The car he had at his disposal in Catalonia is different from the one tested in 2021 and yet he is not at fault. “ So considering he only had an hour in the car, I think he did a pretty good job. He clearly has the potential to be an absolute quality competition driver. »

Nyck de Vries ahead of Nicholas Latifi in Spain

In Catalonia, in addition to having completed the program assigned to him, Nyck de Vries also set a better time than his teammate. Nicholas latifi with a tenth ahead of the Canadian. “ He completed the engineering program we needed, which to us was most important. You know, not only did he not have much time in the simulator, but we gave him the main tire for his first outing yesterday, which we knew would be a little difficult. »

Asked about the chances of seeing Nyck de Vries on the grid next season, Dave Robson thinks we could find him in 2023. “ Yes, he's worthy of a place on the grid, I think, but a lot of people are. » At Williams, places could become available with the contracts of their two drivers which expire in 2022.

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