De Vries was part of Toyota's winning line-up at Le Mans this year
Toyota
The road to Formula 1 is famously rocky and unpredictable, demanding immense sacrifices and dedication from drivers who aspire to racing at the top level.
Most fail in their goal, and even among those who do make it there is perhaps an even crueller fate: to lose their seat without really having the opportunity to shine.
That was the outcome that befell Nyck de Vries when he was jettisoned from AlphaTauri after just 10 races in 2023: the long-held dream wrenched from his grasp.
But far from falling into despair, the Formula 2 champion described “relief” at being freed from the intense pressure of the F1 paddock.
In the latest issue of Motor Sport, de Vries looks back on a career in which every apparent dead end became another road ahead.
It began in the car park of one of his father’s Renault dealerships, where he first drove a kart at the age of five.
“I never really had a chance to consider anything other than racing as a career, because I grew up with racing,” the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours winner told Matt Bishop.
The family could afford karting but not formula cars, and for years he saw himself as “slightly in the background”.
Then came the European scene, two world karting titles in 2010 and 2011, and a place on McLaren‘s books, which made a big difference.
“I’d say that 70% of my costs were covered by McLaren, which was great, because without that I wouldn’t have been able to do all those feeder series,” he admitted.
When the McLaren backing ended, however, he was left to fight his own battles.
“In the winter of 2016 to 2017, for example, I had nothing lined up, nothing at all,” he said.
He started his Formula 2 season with Rapax on a third of the budget, and the years that followed were relentless.
“It felt like live or die, and after a while I stopped even dreaming about F1.”
De Vries credits Sean Gelael’s family with keeping him going: “To be honest, the Gelael family saved my career, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that.”
De Vries won the 2019 F2 title with ART, but no F1 seat followed, so instead he took up simulator work for Mercedes, joined its Formula E team and won the 2020/21 championship.
Then came Monza 2022, when Alex Albon’s appendicitis handed him a Williams on the Saturday morning. He finished ninth on his debut, a result that opened the door to be signed by AlphaTauri for the 2023 season.
His time at Red Bull-owned squad lasted just 10 races, however, and after the 2023 British Grand Prix he was dismissed and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.
De Vries has no regrets about his short F1 stint
Grand Prix Photo
Despite the brutal exit, he remains remarkably generous about it.
“I have no regrets or ill feelings towards anyone at Red Bull or AlphaTauri,” he said.
He describes its culture as “swim or sink, hit or miss, all or nothing” and admits he was “almost relieved to be released from it, in a way”.
The payoff came at Le Mans this year, alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway at Toyota, after a second and a fifth in the previous two years.
He drove the stint in which the lead was taken, then couldn’t face watching the finish.
“I went into my driver’s room, I lay on my bed and I stared at the ceiling.” He walked back to the garage three minutes from the end, with the car still in front.
“They say you don’t choose Le Mans; Le Mans chooses you,” he says. “I 100% want to acknowledge that that’s the absolute truth.”
Read the full interview in the latest issue of Motor Sport here.
