Nyck de Vries believes that his biggest strength is also his main weakness, having identified his "perfectionism" as both a positive and negative trait. The Dutchman will make his full-time debut in F1 in 2023 with the AlphaTauri team, where he will race alongside the incumbent Yuki Tsunoda. Ahead of the campaign getting underway, de Vries has been preparing both physically and mentally with the support his trainer, Pyry Salmela, and has recognised the need to establish a balance in being a perfectionist. "I personally think my biggest strength is equally my biggest weakness," de Vries told the AlphaTauri Tauri Talk podcast. "Managing your strength but not overdoing it is something that I've addressed and learned over the years. But, obviously, you still risk [that] sometimes [you will] make mistakes, but managing that is probably my biggest challenge, to avoid making mistakes."
De Vries reflects on managing perfectionism
In terms of what exactly he classes as both his main strength and weakness, de Vries explained: "My commitment and determination, but also my perfectionism, is a great asset and a strength. "But, equally, [it is] a weakness because, when you go too far, you lose focus and you get lost in the detail. "And that's when you aren't able to focus but also, basically, your will is paralysing your intuition and your talent and your feeling. "Racing is still very much about feeling and intuition so, when you're in the car, your mind's got to be free to drive your feeling. "If you're too keen and if you want it too much, and you just overdo things and you're overthinking, then that is paralysing your feeling, and then, obviously, that's hurting your performance."
Maintaining a balance
While an attention to detail is a trait of many athletes, de Vries admits that it has to be managed in a certain way. "If you look at a lot of successful people in different industries, I think the attention to detail is something that also pops out in many of them," the 28-year-old added. "So that's why the balance is so fine. When you look at Michael Jordan [in The Last Dance], he was hammering the details of his teammates to push everyone to the limit, non-stop, but he was a machine and living legend. "But that balance is very fine, because you've got to be demanding and you've got to be pushing all areas to basically be successful. But if you go too far, then it can be going against you."
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