‘I need to be fitter and stronger than Max,’ Nyck De Vries is eager to impress as his prepares for his first full season in F1

‘I need to be fitter and stronger than Max,’ Nyck De Vries is eager to impress as his prepares for his first full season in F1

Nyck De Vries

Nyck De Vries has had an impeccable career in single seater racing. After what seemed like an eternity, the Dutch driver finally got his big shot as he secured a drive with AlphaTauri for the 2023 F1 season. However, he does realise that his fitness will play a key role as he aims to get on the levels of his fellow countryman Max Verstappen in order to achieve success in the pinnacle of motorsport. 

Nyck De Vries racked up a lot of commotion last year when he broke the record for working with the most amount of F1 teams in a single season. His F1 journey started with Mercedes and went onto all the Mercedes powered cars as he competed in practice sessions for the teams. Having subbed in for Alex Albon during his appendix surgery, Nyck showed everyone what he was capable of. 

YouTube video

During his debut race in the sport, Nyck manages to cross the finish line in P9 which gave Williams 2 valuable points. However, it was lateral revealed that the Dutchman was not physically fit enough to handle the forces that he had to embrace whilst he was behind the wheel of an F1 car. De Vries literally had to be pulled out of the Williams in parc ferme which made it clear that he required a lot of training for his full season debut. 

FS Video

Also Read: ‘I’ve gotten to a good level with this car,’ Carlos Sainz on how Charles Leclerc showed him his ‘limits’ in 2022 and his hopes for next season

Nyck De Vries cannot afford to take his F1 move lightly 

Nyck De Vries
Nyck De Vries

During an interview with De Telegraaf, here is what the Dutchman had to say. “The speeds and forces in Formula 1 are so high, incomparable to other classes. It’s not like I have been driving F2 in recent years, eh. Then it’s like coming from a step-up class straight into Formula 1. Look, if you are a runner, you are the engine yourself. With us, the car is. It’s all about the absolute values then,” he said. 

“I am 1.68 metres tall and weigh 58 kilograms. I can be very strong in proportion, but actually, I should be able to tap the same levels as someone who weighs almost 80 kilograms. So proportionally, I need to be fitter and stronger than someone like Max, I need to get the same lung capacity as guys like that,” De Vries concluded. 

It was clear that Nyck De Vries wasn’t ready for his debut race in the sport. However he had a lot of time for training with the 2023 season being a couple months away. He can further be able to learn more about his experience and work towards getting fitter and reach to the level that Verstappen is already on, if not higher. We’ll get to know eventually if the training has paid off as the season opener takes place. 

In case you missed it :