‘Shortest lineup on the grid confirmed’: F1 Twitter explodes as Nyck de Vries becomes AlphaTauri driver
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Nyck de Vries (IMAGO / HochZwei)
As expected, after Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine was announced, the announcement of Nyck de Vries move to AlphaTauri, where he will replace Gasly was done in quick succession. It had become a bit of an open secret, and all it needed was confirmation. Well, confirmation has arrived.
It’s certainly been an amazing past month for the Dutchman. He did an FP1 run with Aston Martin in Monza, but then he was needed elsewhere – at Williams, as Alex Albon could not compete due to an appendicitis diagnosis. de Vries impressed mightily during the race, finishing P9, which also means that he has more points than Nicholas Latifi, as of now, despite having only driven one race.
In the announcement post, de Vries said: “I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023, and I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1.”
Also Read: Nyck de Vries finally signs with AlphaTauri as Pierre Gasly’s Alpine move seems imminent – Reports
Nyck de Vries: ‘Experiences with the 2022 car put in great position for upcoming season’
While Nyck de Vries won Formula 2, a seat was not immediately available for him in Formula 1. Instead, he went to Formula E – where he won the championship in 2020-21. Now, the Dutchman will finally drive at the pinnacle of motorsport: “After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.”
de Vries has already driven a Formula 1 car on multiple occasions. He drove 3 FP1 sessions this year, all for different teams, and of course, raced in Monza. He feels this will help him for next year: “I’ve had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season, I hope this has helped to prepare me for what is to come.”
Fans (and teams) have taken to Twitter to congratulate the Dutchman, and also welcome him to the team. Some have simply expressed themselves, given the occasion. Red Bull, for one, have remarked that the grid now has two Dutch world champions – which is true, as de Vries won Formula E.
Nyck de Vries is 167cm, and his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda will be 159cm. The Dutchman would not be taller at any other team, only AlphaTauri.
Mercedes, who he currently still serves as reserve driver, also congratulated him. One should hope that a move to Red Bull will not sour the relationship, as the two teams are not known to be on the best of terms.
Well, they were not wrong.
Nyck de Vries also revealed that he spent most of his teenage years karting in Italy, and so it is great for him to join an Italian team that ‘already has a real family feel’. It’ll be interesting to see how the Dutchman will match-up against Yuki Tsunoda, and if the pair will get along well or not.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)