Nyck de Vries will be Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s reserve driver for the double-header New York ePrix on the fourteenth and fifteenth of July.
The Formula 2 and McLaren junior driver will be on stand-by to step in for either Daniel Abt or Lucas di Grassi should they be unable to drive, as the team look to cover all eventualities in their push for the team’s championship.
Audi currently sit thirty-three points behind Techeetah in the standings, but with ninety-four points up for grab over the course of the weekend the German manufacturer is still in with a slim chance of taking the championship.
As such they called in de Vries to ensure they could still field two drivers should something unforeseen happen to Abt or di Grassi.
De Vries knows the team having taken part in the young driver test for them, and he also revealed to Autosport that he took part in a filming day when di Grassi was unavailable.
He said, “Audi and myself have been in touch for a little while now, they know me and I know them.
“They invited me, I was very grateful for that opportunity. I didn’t get much running [in the Marrakech test] but still got a feel for the car.
“I did some filming ahead of Zurich E-Prix, with Lucas’s helmet on. Lucas wasn’t available that day.
“New York is a double header and Audi still have a chance of the teams’ championship. That’s going to be an intense one as has a strong driver line-up.
“But so does Audi, and it will be a tight battle between them. It is still possible and they just want to make sure that if something happens they have someone to jump in.”
De Vries is said that despite the appointment his focus remains on the current F2 season with Prema, although he described Formula E as ‘interesting.
“[Formula E] is certainly something to look at,” said de Vries. “It’s an interesting championship which is growing very quickly with many manufacturers involved.
“At the minute my focus is still on F2 and scoring as many points as possible in each race weekend and we will see how things develop in the future.”
