Nyck de Vries took only six races to become a FIA Formula 2 Championship race winner, with the young Dutch driver leading a Rapax 1-2 during Saturday’s Sprint race in Monaco.
The McLaren Junior had started the Feature race on Friday from fourteenth after taking two grid penalties, but climbed to seventh by the chequered flag, and then jumped team-mate Johnny Cecotto Jr at the start on Saturday to hit the front, ultimately winning by 9.834 seconds.
De Vries had one moment during the race when he momentarily lost concentration, but luckily was able to stay out of the barriers, and from there on he was in total control once more.
“It’s been an unbelievable weekend: we started quite well but we had some difficulties after qualifying with two grid penalties,” said de Vries on fiaformula2.com. “I was back to P14 which was tough to take but, you never in Monaco and we kept fighting.
“Surely everything went our way yesterday to get back in the top eight which was crucial to have a shot today. From the front row, we took the opportunity: I had a very good start. It was a very long race to the end.
“I lost concentration a little bit at some point and hit the apex at Turn 12. At that stage, I really told myself to keep it together. I’m extremely happy and thankful to the team and everyone involved.”
