‘It’s bad for the system’: Nyck de Vries believes a potential super license exemption for Colton Herta sets a bad precedent
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Nyck de Vries (L) and Colton Herta (R)
There has been quite a merry-go-round in Formula 1 recently. As Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement – Fernando Alonso moved to replace him, Alpine announced Oscar Piastri as the Spaniard’s replacement but that didn’t work out, and eventually, Piastri went to McLaren.
That has an empty seat in Alpine’s roster, one that has many candidates to fulfil it. There’s Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher, Alpine junior Jack Doohan, and current AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s situation is rather complicated, as he has a contract with the team for next year, having recently extended it.
But it appears that the Red Bull family is not completely averse to Gasly moving on, even if that leaves a hole in their own team. Colton Herta, currently in IndyCar and also McLaren’s development driver, has emerged as the favourite. However, he doesn’t have the required 40 super license points, but only 32. It’s possible that Herta will be granted an exemption, which Nyck de Vries feels is not a good precedent.
Also Read: Nyck de Vries to replace Sebastian Vettel for Aston Martin in FP1 at the Italian GP
Nyck de Vries believes the exemption may have a negative effect on F2 and F3
Nyck de Vries is also a candidate for a Formula 1 seat and has been one for a long time. There were rumours that Williams were interested in him signing on to replace Nicholas Latifi, but that has quieted down. Mercedes, who he currently drives for in Formula E (and also with double duties as a reserve driver for the F1 team) is another potential destination, but there isn’t any confirmation on that front.
When quizzed on the potential exemption by Motorsport, De Vries said it would be ‘bad for the system’: “I think the rules that have been created for this should simply be complied with. Because besides being frustrating, I think it’s also bad for the system.”
He further explained: “It could have a negative effect on Formula 2 and Formula 3, because if you can score points more easily elsewhere, you get drivers to move to other championships. In that case, for example, a driver would rather opt for the Indy Lights, in which only about twelve cars drive.”
De Vries believes that there are many super-licensed drivers to choose from (himself included) and that the FIA should not make exceptions, as this may lead to a situation in the future where many more drivers will ask for exemptions. As for Herta, there is no confirmation of a decision yet.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)