How a useless body part ended up giving Nyck De Vries an F1 contract for 2023
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Nyck De Vries
Just a few hours ago, it was announced that Nyck De Vries will be joining AlphaTauri to replace departing Frenchman Pierre Gasly ahead of FP3 of the Japanese GP weekend. This move however did not come as much of a shock to fans after multiple rumours had already confirmed the deal. The Dutch driver will finally get a chance to race a full season in F1 and it’s all down to luck and well, one body part.
Let us take a look back to the Italian GP weekend. Williams racing announced on Saturday that Alex Albon won’t be taking part in any further activities or sessions this weekend as he was diagnosed with Appendicitis. This meant that the Thai driver wasn’t physically capable of driving as he needed to be shifted to the hospital and be prepped up for surgery. This in turn ended with De Vries getting a shot to race an F1 car for the first time in his life.
Alex Albon underwent surgery to remove his appendix and Nyck De Vries who was his replacement for the Italian GP managed to put out a stellar performance in his debut Formula One race as he finished P9 and brought home 2 valuable points for the team. This feat impressed the whole paddock and boosted his talks with the teams that he was negotiating an F1 deal with.
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Alex Albon unintentionally ended up securing a F1 drive for Nyck De Vries
The Dutch driver’s performance at the Italian GP seemed to turn a lot of heads and showed everyone what a driver Nyck was. Soon after that, Helmut Marko and De Vries met up in Austria where a possible contract with Red Bull’s sister team was discussed. This in turn became a reality today as the Dutchman was announced as an AlphaTauri driver.
There will be two Dutch World Champions on the grid next year which is a crazy fact to think about. What’s even crazier is if Alex Albon would have been fit to ride during the Italian GP without encountering any health issues, the F1 world could have never gotten to witness the Dutch driver’s performance in a Formula One car. In the end, I am glad that Alex Albon is fit and fine. Although I expect Nyck to treat the Thai driver to a nice dinner after this announcement.
Also read : “F1 trying to create a suspense in the title race” – Fans skeptical of a comeback by Charles Leclerc this season
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)