“Nyck De Vries was the man to beat” – George Russell thrilled to welcome 27-year-old Karting rival in F1

Mercedes F1 driver George Russell claims Nyck De Vries will do well in F1 and is happy to see him join the grid as a permanent driver in 2023.

One race cannot decide a driver’s future or calibre. But for Nyck De Vries, the 2022 Italian GP for a make-or-break race in terms of his racing career.

The Dutchman had finally got to start the race as an emergency replacement for Alex Albon who underwent surgery for ruptured appendicitis. And finally, after 4 years, De Vries got to fulfil his dream of racing in F1.

Till then he was contracted to McLaren and later Mercedes as their Test and reserve driver. But neither considered him as an alternate replacement, nor an option for their F1 seats.

But De Vries was a prodigal talent. The driver had won the 2010 & 2011 World Karting Championship, the 2019 F2 title and the 2021 Formula E World Champion.

Yet in his first F1 race, De Vries shocked everyone by putting his Williams in Q2. He grabbed points in his F1 debut by finishing P9. And this earned him a seat at AlphaTauri for the 2023 season

 

His old friend and grid rival George Russell is thrilled to see the Dutchman finally get his dream chance to race in F1. And Russell believes he can make a name for himself in F1 just like he did in Karting.

Also Read: How 2-time world champion Max Verstappen helped Nyck De Vries get AlphaTauri seat?

George Russell claims Nyck De Vries deserved to be in F1 the most

George Russell and Nyck De Vriesway beyond their time in the Mercedes driver academy. The two have been battling each other on track since their Karting days.

Drivers like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Russell and De Vries are from the same generation of drivers. They have constantly battled each other from their Karting and junior formula days and knew each other very well.

Russell has fond memories of racing Karting. He said, “Out of the karting boys, Nyck was the only one who hadn’t made it to F1 who probably deserved to make it to F1.”

Russell adds, “In go-karting, he was the man to beat. I never raced him in go-karting, but out of all of us, he was probably the most successful one in go-karting.”

Russell claims Nyck was the only one who didn’t make it from the entire lot. But now that he will enter F1 he is happy to see him.

Also Read: Red Bull boss jokes 27-year-old’s arrival isn’t commercially attractive for them

The stars aligned for Nyck De Vries

George Russell took 48 race starts to score his first points with Williams. And for Alex Albon, 3 starts. While Nyck De Vries, who was dropped in the 11th hour scored his first points in his debut.

This just shows the talent the 27-year-old brings. And after being sidelined for 4 seasons without a chance, Russell says the race was a perfect opportunity for Nyck who nailed it on his first outing.

Russell said, “I think to get to F1, you need to do the job at the right time when there is an opportunity on the grid. And sometimes those stars don’t align. But with the number of stars that aligned in Monza, it probably made up for the unfortunateness of a few years ago.”

He added, “Definitely intrigued to see how he’ll get on. I’ve got no doubt that he’ll perform well. He’s got all the possibilities to be a great F1 driver. I’m sure he’ll do great.”

Seeing the performance, Red Bull swooped in and secured Nyck De Vries from Mercedes. He will replace the Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri from the 2023 season onwards.

Also Read: “It’s a shame to lose Nyck De Vries” – Mercedes regret losing $5 Million net worth driver to AlphaTauri