How de Vries' overdue F1 debut proved him worthy of a 2023 drive

Just as Nyck de Vries settled down for his Saturday morning coffee in the Paddock Club hospitality, his phone buzzed into life. Mercedes strategist James Vowles was on the other end, bearing the news that de Vries was needed at the Williams garage; Alex Albon had been taken to hospital with appendicitis, and so was told to make his way urgently to the British squad’s garage.

Quickly kitted out in Williams gear, de Vries had to swiftly get reacquainted with the FW44’s systems and layout - after his last outing in the car came in FP1 for the Spanish Grand Prix in May - and then wassent out in FP3 for a cursory bit of seat-time before qualifying. It was a whirlwind debut, all told.

At the end of that hour, to have kept the car largely on the road in practice – save for an excursion at the Lesmos – was credit in the bank for de Vries. Outqualifying team-mate Latifi, starting eighth and finishing ninth? Had de Vries been able to sleep ahead of his maiden F1 race, it would have been exactly as he’d dreamed of.

An F1 debut has been a long time coming for de Vries. A McLaren junior in the Ron Dennis era, the Frieslander’s Formula 2 title crown in 2019 was unjustly met with an apparent degree of apathy from the kingmakers in F1. Instead, he was forced to watch as vice-champion Nicholas Latifi, whose early strong start to that year in F2 faded in submission to de Vries’ stronger credentials, passed through to the top flight.

Williams, then in dire straits, was most receptive to the cash boost that supported Latifi’s aspirations. In the meantime, de Vries lost his own support network from McLaren – collateral damage in the takeover that necessitated the last vestiges of the Dennis regime to be purged.

Mercedes, however, rated the Dutchman enough to take a chance on him at its new Formula E team. Coincidentally, he linked up with fellow McLaren cast-off Stoffel Vandoorne at the squad for the 2019-20 season, and the two remained team-mates through the marque’s three-year tenure in the all-electric championship. As the project has now come to an end, Mercedes won the teams’ crown two years in a row, with de Vries claiming the 2020-21 title and Vandoorne deposing him as champion this year.

The departure of Mercedes was always guaranteed to leave de Vries seeking pastures new, even directly after his title triumph in Formula E. With Williams seeking a replacement for George Russell, who had received his long-awaited promotion to the Brackley squad’s F1 team to partner Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes wanted to plug de Vries straight into the seat to partner Latifi. But like all LinkedIn job postings, a possible entry-level position required experience: experience that de Vries did not have. Albon, supported by Red Bull and Christian Horner, got the nod instead.

Nyck, come quick! De Vries had to hurriedly make his way to the Williams garage ahead of a surprise debut

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

It’s ironic that it was Albon’s growling appendix which offered de Vries a chance to finally race in F1. Exploratory outings in prior FP1s for Williams and Mercedes had whet his appetite, but Monza looked to be another weekend of driving a car on Friday – this time, the Aston Martin – before spending Saturday and Sunday perched next to Toto Wolff in the Mercedes garage. Instead, his morning cappuccino was sweetened by the news of a race drive.

It was only in May that Autosport had spoken to de Vries about his future in racing, where it seemed as though the chance for an F1 move had been and gone with Albon’s Williams signing. At that point, de Vries was exploring options to continue in Formula E - and is believed to have a deal with Maserati prepared if he doesn't make it to F1 - but had also impressed Meyer Shank Racing’s IndyCar squad in a test at Sebring.

Then there was the small matter of his Toyota reserve role in the World Endurance Championship, in which a promotion would undoubtedly be on the cards if any of the six regular drivers elected to step down. But getting to F1 was still de Vries’ dream, no matter how unrealistic he considered it.

"I think F1 is a dream for every young driver," de Vries told Autosport during the Berlin E-Prix weekend. "And I repeat that sentence often. But I would be lying if I said that it isn't. Everyone shares that dream and goal, and it's the pinnacle of our sport.

Monza looked to be another weekend of driving a car on Friday, before spending Saturday and Sunday perched next to Toto Wolff in the Mercedes garage. Instead, his morning cappuccino was sweetened by the news of a race drive

"At the same time, I'm realistic, and I'm not sure whether that is realistic or not. It's still quite early. So you know, that is maybe a dream, but rationally and realistically, I think probably Formula E, WEC or IndyCar are more options that are kind of more controllable."

And you only need one chance to turn a dream into a reality.

Although de Vries had come into the Williams garage relatively sharp following his Friday outing for Aston Martin, there was still a lot to do. He’d have FP3 to get acquainted with the FW44, but lost about half of the session getting a car set up for a 6’1” Albon down to de Vries’ 5’6” frame. That the 27-year-old was less than a tenth away from Latifi’s time off the bat in FP3 was already a success alone.

There was always a chance Williams could perform well at Monza; it was helpful that the FW44, while bearing its flaws, is noticeably fleet footed in a straight line. Albon demonstrated that in Spa en route to a 10th-place finish, so de Vries at least had something to work with. Although there were also flashes of pace from Latifi, the Canadian was hardly making the most of what Williams had to work with and unceremoniously slid out of Q1. De Vries, despite having a laptime deleted for a track limits violation, still progressed to Q2.

De Vries started eighth alongside compatriot Max Verstappen at Monza - the first time two Dutch drivers occupied the grid since 2006

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Could he have made it to Q3? It’s possible, but de Vries’ unfamiliarity with the Williams controls yielded a moment of brake bias finger trouble on his final run cemented 14th and a Q2 exit. But, thanks to penalties, that became eighth on grid alongside compatriot Max Verstappen.

For fans of obscure F1 trivia, it was the first time two Dutch drivers had occupied the grid since Christijan Albers and Robert Doornbos raced at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. And the last time two Dutch drivers scored in an F1 race? That’s not something that had ever happened before.

It wouldn’t be disingenuous to suggest that most thought de Vries would fade away during the race. To keep a Williams among midfielders in the battle for points is an intense workout; Albon’s done it a few times this season and Russell did so before him but, more often than not, the hope of points finishes for Williams tends to fade away as the race unfurls.

So it’s to de Vries’ further credit that he was able to retain eighth at the start of the race, latch onto the emerging DRS train of Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris, and keep with them for the entirety of the race. When the out-of-position faster cars swashbuckled through the pack, de Vries was sensible enough not to lose time by fighting them. And even through the pitstop, he’d hit his marks and got out with Ricciardo and Gasly once more.

It’s such a different form of racing compared to Formula E, where robust moves and crunching tackles are par for the course. It’s fair to say that de Vries can shoulder-barge with the best of them in the all-electric category; he wouldn’t have become champion if he couldn't. But translating that to the delicate world of F1 would not have worked, and he knew that. Instead, making passing manoeuvres in F1 often comes accompanied with the need for patience, rather than employing a precipitous divebomb to make the difference.

And of course, there’s the phenomenon known as a 'DRS train'. Although Formula E races can often begin to form orderly queues beyond the initial moves at the start, that’s because drivers are immediately saving energy for a later push. Regardless, it’s a different arena, but not one that has dulled de Vries’ instincts; three years of Formula 2 still appear to remain relatively fresh in the memory.

“The whole of the last 24 hours have just been a dream,” de Vries enthused after his first proper taste of F1 had come to an end. “I didn’t really have much time to think because everything was so rushed. I had a very bad sleep, it went from excitement into nerves and I didn’t dare even look into my sleep tracking because basically I spent the whole night awake. But perhaps it helped me. I couldn’t think and I just had to get on with the job.

“My start wasn’t great but it was enough to maintain position, and I think it was key for me to get into a rhythm in the beginning and not lose position [because] then your tyres are dirty and you’re always on the back foot. That’s why I was really happy with our strategy and how we managed that. And actually the pace was really good, the car was great and we made a small adjustment from stint one to stint two.

Having not raced with DRS since 2019, de Vries had to get used to the 'DRS trains'

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“I asked a lot of help from the team to use the tools in the car to influence the balance. Again, I know that we had a little bit of help from outside with grid penalties and all that. But hey, no one can take these points away from us.”

Driver Ratings: 2022 Italian Grand Prix

Should de Vries get another chance, or indeed the full-time nod for 2023, there’s naturally room for improvement. He’d been pinged three times for track limits violations within the first half of the race, meaning that de Vries had to tread on thin ice when the black-and-white flag came out. Of course, the sometimes arbitrary nature of track limits in F1 isn’t what de Vries has been used to of late – in Formula E, the track limits are quite often concrete in nature. But it’s something he’s smart enough to get on top of.

Then there’s the reprimand for ‘erratic driving’ under the safety car, but the plea of innocence with regards to a miscommunication over delta times with Williams ultimately resulted in nothing stronger. It was a one-off caused by the terms of the late-race safety car.

"I had a very bad sleep, it went from excitement into nerves and I didn’t dare even look into my sleep tracking because basically I spent the whole night awake. But perhaps it helped me" Nyck de Vries

De Vries is both self-possessed and self-critical. He will most likely have already begun picking away at any of those aforementioned minor mistakes, but it’s hard to argue that there was anything more de Vries could have done on his surprise debut in F1 to impress those who make the decisions over drivers. His dismantling of Latifi over the weekend may prove to be a nail in the Canadian’s F1 career coffin, and Williams would be mad to let de Vries go freely if other teams (namely, Alpine) start to sniff around for his services. But he’s taking nothing for granted.

“You know, I feel like I wouldn’t be standing on this grid [if I didn’t deserve it] and I think this weekend has been a good performance,” he said. “But we’re always expected to do a good job and it’s not up to me to decide any driver line-up. This world is very volatile and it’s not only merit counts. So, it’s out of my control.

“But this no one can take away from me, so regardless of the future whether I’m here or not, I can look back on a proud debut and first moment in Formula 1. I enjoyed it.”

Any doubts about his credentials to land an F1 drive will have been dispelled, and for de Vries to do that amid the pressure of the weekend simply shows he’s good enough. His prior results already showed that, but sometimes team principals need a bit more of a visual incentive. Helpfully, it might also hint at some of the talent in Formula E that F1 has slept on...

But if de Vries didn’t know if an F1 drive was realistic back in May, it surely must be realistic four months on. If Monza was an audition, he passed it with aplomb.

Williams boss Jost Capito was very impressed by de Vries' run to ninth

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images