At twenty-eight years old, Nyck de Vries becomes a rookie in 2023 as he heads into his first season as a FIA Formula 1 World Championship driver with Scuderia AlphaTauri.
The Dutchman has dreamed of making it to the pinnacle of the sport and now gets the opportunity to show everyone just how talented he is as he is already excited to get started.
“First of all, to get the opportunity to live my dream, but equally to be very excited and motivated to perform and to deliver,” said de Vries.
“I think partly because my journey has been slightly unusual and longer, I’m even more grateful for the opportunity, more motivated to grab it and hungrier to show what I’m worth.”
The former FIA Formula 2 and ABB FIA Formula E world champion was rewarded with a seat at AlphaTauri after impressing the paddock last season at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza when he stepped in for Alexander Albon at Williams Racing and was able to score points for the team.
De Vries talked about how he has been preparing for the upcoming season, what the main priorities have been and if he has already established good relationships within the team.
“Well, you can’t force relationships. That always takes a bit of time but I’ve been very warmly welcomed. It seemed like everyone was very excited about my arrival and we certainly did everything we could to integrate me as quickly as possible.”
“I spent time with different engineering departments, with different people within the team, and we’ve also done a little bit more specic work on preferences, likings, on all sorts of things.
“I feel like we did a good job of using the time to welcome and integrate me into the team but at the same time, we have started to look at gaps where there is room for improvement which we needed to highlight.
“We’ve used our time well in terms of the physical aspect and we’ve been pushing really hard. I’m just basically enjoying the ride and I’m very excited to start our season.”
De Vries is now the second Dutch driver on the grid alongside the two time and current world champion Max Verstappen. With there being such a big fanbase from the Netherlands in F1, de Vries is hoping to share the support of his fellow countryman in 2023.
“Time will tell. Obviously, Max has done incredibly well in Formula 1. He’s dominating our sport at the moment and rightfully, the whole country is behind him and the Dutch are very excited about Formula 1.
“I’m starting my Formula 1 journey, and while Max will be continuing to fight for championships, I’ll try to make my mark in my way as well. Apart from that, I don’t know how much the support will be divided between us. Of course the fans are behind Max and now they have a second Dutch driver to cheer for!”
The former Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team reserve driver has now joined the Red Bull family, which will open up a variety of opportunities for him within and away from F1. When asked about what it means to him becoming one of their athletes, de Vries spoke about his excitement to be a part of the iconic brand.
“Red Bull is obviously a very iconic brand not just across sport but in the world in general. As a kid, I grew up looking at the brand and actually, I’ve always been competing against the brand in one way or another.
“Now, to finally join the Red Bull family means a lot. It has very strong values in sport and is all about performance, winning and basically daring to be different and to try. It’s been great. They’ve been super welcoming as has Scuderia AlphaTauri in Italy.
“I’ve had a very warm welcome and I’m really happy and enjoying being a new member of the family. I’ve already been to the Red Bull headquarters and to the Athlete Performance Center in Austria.”
De Vries will be hoping that he can impress in his debut season for AlphaTauri as the team looks forward to the brand new season and improving on last season’s result.
