“Formula 1 Driver Nyck de Vries Talks Pressure and Bright Spots Ahead of Monaco GP”

• Louis Decker

  reporter Formula 1

“Good morning! It’s been a long time since I saw so many journalists.” AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries immediately notices: in Monaco, the city where he lives, the interest of the motorsport press is remarkably high.

He knows: the enthusiasm is partly because the Formula 1 circus has finally set up camp in Europe. But the world press is mainly triggered by his lousy start to the season.

The contrast is great. In 2022, journalists en masse came to record De Vries’ story about his sensational substitution at Williams, when he finished ninth in Monza. world championship points in his first grand prix. Suddenly he figured in a nice row with Formula 1 champions such as Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Stewart and Sebastian Vettel.

The tide has turned. The interim balance in De Vries’ debut season is crystal clear: five grands prix, zero World Cup points. Bad luck, mistakes, slips and a painful detail: teammate Yuki Tsunoda does perform. The Japanese collects points with the somewhat slow car and drives solidly.

De Vries’ mediocre series stands out. “I expect Nyck will not need time to adapt to Formula 1. He is experienced, has already proven that he is fast and will be there immediately,” said team boss Franz Tost at the start of the season.

“I’m not satisfied myself,” says the direct object now. “I expect the very best from myself. I haven’t shown that yet.”

It is therefore crowded in the guest house that Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing and De Vries’ racing stable AlphaTauri share in Monte Carlo: a pompous pontoon, moored right next to the Formula 1 paddock.

There is only room for a handful of journalists at De Vries’ table. The rest is remote. Smartphones register the one-liners of the 28-year-old Frisian, who is being sawn through. The word pressure dominates. Does he feel a lot of pressure? How does he handle it?

With angelic patience, De Vries defends himself in a rather vicious fire of questions. All kinds of variants are reviewed, but it comes down to the same thing: pressure.

De Vries seems to do little. “It doesn’t scare me. Pressure is part of the sport. It makes sense that you get to hear it when performance is lacking. I don’t know any better. It’s been that way all my life. As a driver you always have to fight to survive. “

“Whether my position is wavering? No, I don’t experience it that way. You may not believe me, but I don’t feel any more pressure than before. There is just a lot of talk and speculation in Formula 1. There is a lot noise.”

It rains stories about the mediocre start of De Vries. He therefore drives under a magnifying glass in Monaco. It has to be better. He is well aware of that. “I don’t beat around the bush. I made too many mistakes. I admit that, but there are also bright spots.”

De Vries takes courage from statistics. “There were times when it went well, when I was fast and showed that the potential is there. I just haven’t been able to tie it together yet. It’s a learning process. All people make mistakes. Me too. You have to do that through it. Accept and through.”

Have there been serious discussions with the team management? And what about that yellow card that top advisor Helmut Marko talked about? De Vries keeps a low profile. “It’s normal that you talk to your managers, but we haven’t talked too much. I feel support and appreciation from the whole team. I can’t say more about it.”

De Vries gets little of the speculative stories. “I try to ignore the media. It doesn’t help me to follow everything. I do get some through-via and get things because acquaintances send messages and stuff, but I don’t read it. I don’t want to be concerned with the opinions of the outside. I have to believe in myself above all. And I do.”

While the journalists rattle off the results from the recent past, De Vries is already one stop away: the future. Especially his home race.

“A highlight. Monaco is unique and I’m really looking forward to it. I won Formula 2 races here in 2017 and 2019. Very special to race in a Formula 1 car past the place where I normally turn left just before the tunnel turn to my apartment.”

De Vries is experienced enough to realize how quickly everything can turn around. “In this sport you are only as good as your last race. So if I get the job done on the track, it will be fine. It was a few times against me, but I also have to become more consistent myself.”

Whether the 80th edition of the Monaco GP will bring him his first World Cup points of 2023? That remains to be seen. “Every weekend is a new opportunity, but I don’t think we are among the five fastest teams,” says De Vries.

“Hopefully we can just stand out above the rest of the midfield here. We have to run a flawless weekend. Maybe we can take advantage of other people’s mistakes and score points for once. If everything falls into place, that could be the bonus.”

The key moment is the qualification. “A really good lap can get you to the right side of the grid. The midfield is extremely close. It can go either way.”

It’s an extremely thin line in Monaco: drive carefully to avoid damage versus take risks to be lightning fast. “Don’t force it. Don’t be impatient. Don’t be too eager. Then you’re going to make mistakes.”

Despite the headwind, De Vries fully enjoys the iconic event. “It’s a privilege. There are only twenty Formula 1 drivers. This is the pinnacle of motorsport. We get to drive the fastest cars on earth here. Life is still pretty good.”

The driver gets little experience of the traditional glitter and glamor parties. “They organize that especially for you, haha. I’m just in my bed at eleven o’clock.”