Nyck de Vries thinks he ‘deserves a chance’ in F1 after Aston Martin run-out

Sam Cooper
Nyck de Vries in an Aston Martin shirt. Silverstone, September 2022.

Dutchman Nyck de Vries in an Aston Martin shirt ahead of his FP1 drive with the team. Silverstone, September 2022.

Nyck de Vries believes he deserves a chance in a Formula 1 seat following his Aston Martin outing in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman stepped in for Sebastian Vettel as Aston Martin partly fulfilled the FIA obligation which requires two rookies (those with two or fewer F1 races under their belt) to participate in two FP1 sessions over the course of the season. Lance Stroll will have to sit out at some point in the future.

It was the third time this season De Vries has fulfilled this role having already driven in place of Williams’ Alex Albon at the Spanish Grand Prix and then Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the French Grand Prix. It is notable every team the 27-year-old has driven for has a Mercedes engine – the team with whom De Vries currently has a contract as a reserve driver.

His name is one that is often linked with vacant seats and that has proven to be the case again over the course of this summer with potential places at Alpine, AlphaTauri, Haas and Williams up for grabs.

As it stands, the Dutchman looks unlikely to be given a chance at one of those seats, with younger or more F1-experienced drivers getting the nod ahead of him. De Vries has never shied away from declaring his dream is to race in F1 but, speaking after his run-out with Aston Martin, he admitted it was out of his hands.

“I don’t have a management, not really, officially as such,” he told F1.com when asked whether his management was working on getting him a seat for next year. “But time will tell. I don’t know, it’s out of my hands. It’s not in my control.

“Obviously, it’s a dream and I think I would deserve a chance, but ultimately it’s not up to me to decide a driver line-up.”

De Vries has also given his opinion on Colton Herta’s possible arrival as Red Bull work with the FIA to get some leeway in terms of his superlicence. Currently the American does not have enough points to qualify for F1 owing to the reduced prestige given to IndyCar, and De Vries has argued changing that would be “bad for the system”.

“I think the rules that have been created for this should simply be complied with,” he said in an interview with Motorsport.com. “Besides being frustrating, I think it’s also bad for the system.

“It could have a negative effect on Formula 2 and Formula 3 because if you can score points more easily elsewhere, you get drivers to move to other championships.

“In that case, for example, a driver would rather opt for Indy Lights, in which only about 12 cars drive.

“Personally, I believe you should stick to the rules and not make exceptions in these kinds of situations.

“There are plenty of superlicensed drivers to choose from.”