AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost explains why the team signed Nyck de Vries for 2023 and the role his debut at Monza played
Nyck de Vries will get his chance in Formula 1 in 2023. Although he has already been champion in Formula 2 and Formula E, he has always come up empty in the battle for the coveted places in the premier class. But now it has worked out for the Dutchman, who will be allowed to replace Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri and make his move to Alpine possible.
Red Bull had repeatedly emphasised that they would only release Gasly if they could find an adequate replacement. They seem to have found one in de Vries: “Because he’s fast,” answers team boss Franz Tost when asked why they signed de Vries. “I know his history,” he says. “He has been very successful in all series.”
“I think he is a very talented driver who deserves to be in Formula One,” Tost stresses. “We are all looking forward to having him in our car. “
De Vries had been part of the Formula 1 cosmos for some time and was repeatedly linked with a cockpit. Among others, he was considered a hot candidate for Williams before Alexander Albon snatched the seat away from him for 2022. But as chance would have it, it was precisely this cockpit that ultimately opened the door for him.
What role Monza played
Because after various Friday appearances for Mercedes, Williams and Aston Martin, de Vries was allowed to replace Albon at Monza because the Thai had to undergo surgery due to appendicitis. His debut was a complete success: he surprisingly finished in ninth place and thus made some teams talk to him.
Your ItalianGP Driver of the Day WeAreWilliams pic.twitter.com/5nCkwsea4o
– Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 11, 2022
“It had a big impact because it showed his potential,” Tost insists. “He drove a fantastic race, didn’t make a single mistake, so it was an easy decision to take him.” However, de Vries had also been on the radar beforehand, he reveals, “Monza was important, but it wasn’t an eye-opener,” says the Austrian.
Yet de Vries is an unusual rookie by Formula One standards, because when he makes his debut as a regular driver for AlphaTauri next year, he will already be 28 years old – six years older than team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who will then, however, be in his third season.
Who leads AlphaTauri?
Who will then be the team leader next year: the older or the more experienced Formula 1 driver? “We’ll see,” says Tost.
“The leadership of the team also depends on the performance of the car. If we have a good car, it’s easy for both drivers. If we have problems with the car, I think it won’t be so easy to fix everything because Nyck doesn’t have that much Formula One experience and Yuki is still in a learning process,” he says.
“I think Yuki should have enough experience next year to give technical instructions. Nevertheless, I expect a lot from Nyck because he has experience from racing categories where he has won races and championships, so I think that once again we will have a successful year if the car works. “
Tost expects a lot from the start
Tost himself had always stressed that a rookie needs three years in Formula 1 to settle in, but in de Vries’ case it should be quicker: “I expect this learning phase to be limited to a few tests. That means I expect him to be very competitive from the first race in 2023. “
2023 @f1 driver, sounds pretty nice doesn’t it @nyckdevries? pic.twitter.com/qOtDs4A9GI
– Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) October 8, 2022
However, he will probably not get his first impression of the team until after the season, because there will probably not be a training assignment for the fourth different team in a season because he is still under contract with Mercedes. “But I hope we will see him at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi,” said Tost.
