“He deserves to be in Formula One,” Mika Hakkinen backs Nyck De Vries to secure F1 seat for 2023
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Mika and De Vries
Nyck De Vries had an F1 debut to remember at the Italian Grand Prix and after seeing his exploits, former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen has backed the Dutchman to get a permanent seat in F1 very soon.
Nyck De Vries finished a fantastic P9 in his first F1 Grand Prix, and what makes the result more satisfying, is the fact that he was able to manage the result in a Williams livery.
Hakkinen has been left immensely pleased with Nyck De Vries’s outing and while talking about him recently, said, “Good job considering the experience that he has in Formula 1 and getting this kind of phone call you know normally you prepare yourself for the weekend with an operation and everything. So when that becomes the surprise at what he did he did a good job.“
“He deserves to be in Formula One and did a super job. Made it got the points for the team was nearly half a second quicker than his teammate in the qualification yesterday so you know the great job he did”
Mika Hakkinen feels the 27-year-old deserves an F1 seat and has pointed out that De Vries was the better of the two Williams drivers, despite him having less experience than Nichols Latifi who has been associated with the Wantage-based team for many years.
Mika Hakkinen believes Max Verstappen also did a super job during the Italian Grand Prix
While Hakkinen has praised De Vries for his exploits, he has also not shied away from praising Max Verstappen on winning his 11th race of the 2022 F1 season.
Max Verstappen was able to fend off the Challenge of Charles Leclerc and Ferrari in front of the Tifosi, however, Hakkinen believes it is easier for the 24-year-old to keep the competitors at bay considering the package that he has got underneath him this year.
While talking about the same Hakkinen, said, “Absolutely (he drove through the field well) but they have such a good car. They had an unbelievable car, I know when I won my world championship for the first time in ‘98. The car was just incredible, I tell you. It did exactly what I wanted the car to do.“
“So know when he is in a position where he’s starting at the back of the grid due to penalties. It must be such a beautiful feeling to overtake a lot of cars in a comfortable way. That way so you don’t have to take too many risks.”
Mika Hakkinen, while praising Max, has also given a lot of credit to the Red Bull team for developing a lethal weapon in the form of the RB18, that has proved too hot to handle for the rest of the chasing pack.
After 16 rounds, Red Bull is in a commanding position in the Championship, and if one goes by what the former F1 driver has said about them, it is safe to assume that the Milton-Keynes-based Red Bull team is the odds-on favorite to lift both the Championships at the end of the 2022 F1 season.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)