Nyck de Vries

Biography of F1 driver Nyck de Vries

Set to make his full-time F1 race debut in 2023 at the relatively late age of 28, Nyck de Vries has had a varied career so far, winning several junior championships and also taking in several seasons of sportscar racing and Formula E, winning that series' title.

Having finally made it to F1 after it looked like he might miss out on such an opportunity, here's everything you need to know about the life of Nyck de Vries.

De Vries' junior career

Having taken several karting titles, de Vries was signed to McLaren's young driver programme in 2010, and moved up into single seaters in 2012.

After winning both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps titles in 2014, de Vries progressed into Formula Renault 3.5 in 2015, taking a win at Jerez on his way to finishing the series in third place as the year's top rookie.

The Dutchman spent 2016 in GP3, ending the year sixth, before moving up to Formula 2 in 2017, racing first for Rapax and then switching to Racing Engineering as he finished seventh in that year's standings.

Remaining in Formula 2 for 2018, de Vries challenged for the title but ultimately had to settle for fourth place, in a very competitive field that included George Russell, Lando Norris and Alex Albon.

De Vries also began to dovetail his single seater career with sportcars in 2018, driving an LMP2 Dallara for the all-Dutch Racing Team Nederland outfit.

Title glory at last, and a move into Formula E

Staying in F2 for a third season in 2019, de Vries was among the title favourites, and he duly delivered, taking four wins on his way to the series crown.

But with no F1 seat forthcoming, the Dutchman elected to take a different path, and signed to race for Mercedes in Formula E for the 2019-20 season - a move that would also see him serve as a test and reserve driver for the Silver Arrows' F1 team.

De Vries also increased his involvement in sportscars, winning rounds of in both the World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series.

More title glory, and increasing F1 involvement

Into his second season in Formula E, de Vries duly delivered once again when he emerged at the head of a very congested field to claim the 2020-21 series title.

The Dutchman would remain in the all-electric series for a third season, ending up ninth in the final reckoning, but of greater significance was his increasing involvement within F1, as he sought to progress into that series.

De Vries made his F1 race weekend debut at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, taking over Alex Albon's Williams during first practice. The Dutchman would also take part in practice sessions for Mercedes and Aston Martin at Paul Ricard and Monza respectively, before an unexpected opportunity presented itself during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

An unexpected Grand Prix debut

After finishing his stint with Aston Martin during Friday practice, de Vries probably thought his weekend's work was done.

But it emerged that Albon would have to sit out the Monza weekend after having been laid low with appendicitis, and so it was that de Vries - who had already driven the Williams earlier in the season - was hastily pressed into action to make his Grand Prix debut on Sunday.

With no F1 race experience to draw on, and having been called on at very short notice, de Vries was not expected to make much headway in a Williams that was rooted to the bottom of the Constructors' Championship.

Against all odds, however, de Vries thrived in his new environment, outqualifying teammate Nicholas Latifi and then racing solidly and sensibly on Sunday to finish ninth and take two championship points on debut - a result that would equal Williams' best finish of the season.

Securing an F1 drive for 2023 and beyond

Having made such an impression on his debut, de Vries was suddenly hot property, and was linked with several teams for a 2023 race seat.

In the end, AlphaTauri won the day, with de Vries signing on to partner Yuki Tsunoda at the Faenza outfit for 2023.

After a somewhat circuitous route, de Vries finally has a full-time ride in F1.

With AlphaTauri serving as Red Bull's B-team, and his friend and compatriot Max Verstappen firmly ensconced within the senior outfit for many years to come, it would not be a huge surprise to see de Vries form part of an all-Dutch Red Bull lineup in future.