Nyck de Vries in the top 10 at short notice: “I am convinced that I could do better”

In the space of two days, Nyck de Vries sat in the seat of two single-seaters at Monza (Italy). On Friday, the Dutchman replaced Sebastian Vettel in Aston Martin during the first free practice session of the Italian Grand Prix. On Saturday, he took a seat in the carAlexander albon in Williams !

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The Thai having withdrawn due to an attack of appendicitis, the world champion of Formula E 2021 with Mercedes was called to the rescue a few dozen minutes before the start of Free Practice 3. An excursion into the gravel trap did not dampen his motivation.

Nyck gets through to Q2! 👏#WeAreWilliams #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/yU9izuaObX

- Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 10, 2022

Then, shortly after 16 p.m., Nyck de Vries moved up to Q2, with the 13th fastest time in qualifying. Let us point out that his experience in F1 was previously limited to a handful of free practice sessions, but never qualifying.

“I woke up this (Saturday) morning while being calm, said the 27-year-old pilot at Canal+. I wanted to come to the circuit to have a look at the Paddock Club. I was then told to go to the Williams stand very quickly, as I had a briefing waiting for me. I had to completely change my mindset, to be ready as quickly as possible. »

Nyck de Vries will even start from the top 10 on Sunday at 15 p.m. thanks to the avalanche of penalties which hit the majority of competitors at Monza. “I should be satisfied with this performance, but I am convinced that I could do better and extract more from the car. F1 is a very tough world. I think my second lap in Q1 was very good, but I couldn't do a similar run in Q2. I'm going to do as much work as possible tonight to be ready for Sunday. »