Nyck de Vries is set to lose half his F1 earnings from Red Bull over a lawsuit

After being ousted from AlphaTauri in the mid-2023, Nyck de Vries failed to keep up the promises of one of his principal sponsors, Investrand.

Nyck de Vries is set to lose half his F1 earnings from Red Bull over a lawsuit

Nyck de Vries

Nyck de Vries is a reputable figure in the motorsport world but has not had a clean Formula 1 track record. He was dropped by the AlphaTauri F1 team (now VISA CashApp RB) just after 10 races and now races with the Mahindra Formula E team in the electric championship. A lawsuit with his previous sponsor, ‘Investrand’ has left him with half of his total F1 earnings.

In 2018, Investrand sponsored the Formula 2 season of Nyck de Vries and invested €250,000, which enabled him to complete the F2 season that year. The contract that he signed had a clause that if he became an active F1 driver before the end of 2022, he would have to share 50% of his F1 earnings with the real estate corporation. This lawsuit arose because de Vries replaced Alex Albon in the 2022 Monza race as Albon suffered from appendicitis and was unable to race that weekend.

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We supported Nyck at a crucial moment in his career when nobody else wanted to do so anymore. I am happy that the Judge ruled in our favour but of course, I regret that these proceedings were necessary.
Statement by Investrand representative, via Racingnews365.

The verdict by the Amsterdam district court landed in favor of his sponsor and stated that DeVries has to pay 50% of all his F1 earnings generated as an F1 driver after the end of 2022. This included his salary from Alphatauri and all his income from personal sponsorships. This has now left the former F1 driver with a huge financial debt to his previous sponsor.

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Why was Nyck de Vries’ career cut short?

de Vries’ career began in the year 2004 when he started karting and quickly through the ranks of junior racing. He won multiple championships in his early days and debuted in Formula 2 in 2017. He secured the top spot on his 3rd try in 2019 and became the 15th Formula 2 champion ever(including the GP2 series winners).

Nyck de Vries (Via IMAGO)
Nyck de Vries (Via IMAGO)

Unfortunately, he did not receive a seat on the F1 grid next year and became a reserve driver for Mercedes and other teams. Meanwhile, he also won the Formula E championship once with Mercedes’s Formula E team in 2021. He was highly regarded in the paddock and got his breakthrough in F1 with his ‘super sub’ performance in the 2022 Italian GP.

He signed for Alphatauri for the 2023 season but was unable to score any points and struggled behind his teammate. Thus, before the summer break, DeVries was sacked by Helmut Marko in place of Daniel Ricciardo to bring back the ‘honey badger’ in the Red Bull family.

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