De Vries was coached by Hamilton before his free practice session

Each team must run drivers this season with a minimum of experience in F1 in at least two EL1s, Mercedes called Nick De Vries, world championship Formula E in title, in the Var. The Dutchman who had been invited to take command of the Williams in Barcelona during the last Spanish GP, therefore returned to the F1 peloton, covering a total of 23 laps under the advice of the seven-time world champion. “Lewis’ coaching was quite interesting to see,” has explained Toto wolff by qualifying " very very good " the performance of the one who was also champion F2 in 2019.

“We started with the soft tires, underlined a De Vries less satisfied with his performance. I made a few mistakes when I started pushing too much. It wasn't the track, just me getting used to the car. That's why I was a little critical of myself on the radio. » Ninth time of the session, he was however able to explain that he did not see tire degradation as a problem here, as was the case in Barcelona where the mercury also rose high last May.

Asked about the help that Mercedes could possibly provide to force the doors of F1, Wolff was very clear. “If we are not able to provide him with an interesting project in F1, we must let him go, commented the Austrian manager. He is studying the different options, sports cars and then maybe Formula E. But we must never give up hope that one day a door could open in F1. » But not in Brackley.

ALSO READ > Mercedes will be “one to two tenths behind Ferrari and Red Bull” at Paul-Ricard, predicts Russell