When Nyck de Vries made his Formula 1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix last year, he was lucky it was one of the shortest races on the calendar. The high speeds at Monza typically mean the race gets completed the quickest during the season, with the 2022 race clocking up 1 hour and 20 minutes. But even though he was fit enough to take on the challenge, the scenes of him struggling to get out of the car at the end in Parc Ferme showed just how physical modern F1 cars can be. De Vries, who won the Formula E championship with Mercedes, said the work he did prior to F1 was enough. But now this eye-opener has led to the Dutchman putting more effort into his preparation in comparison to other championships. "It's completely different, I think that the focus and emphasis was very much on physical preparation," he told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Firstly integrating in a new environment, new team, meeting new people, understanding where the team is standing and where we can improve. "But from a personal perspective I needed to put in much more time and effort into physical preparation. In the championships I raced in during the past three years, the physical activity [I did] was enough to cope with it."
De Vries: I couldn't get out of the car in Monza, but I might struggle to get in the car now!
Numerous videos have surfaced from the teams and drivers, including even Toto Wolff , of their training regimes ahead of what will be one of the longest seasons in F1 history. De Vries explained that he has been on a more "intense" pre-season programme ahead of 2023, but said it was a "deliberate decision" to invest his time in areas other than fitness. He continued: "In F1 the stresses, the loads, and the intensity is so high that you can't get away with just doing a bit of gym classes and going for a run every now and then. "We've worked hard and I'm feeling strong. I couldn't get out of the car and Monza but I might struggle to get in the car now! "It was actually a deliberate decision when I was not racing in F1 to invest my time in other areas. "In the past, it was more about managing my career opportunities and to steer it in a direction to keep all the doors open and to not give up on my future dream. Now that I'm here, it's all about putting the work into succeeding here."
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