Nyck de Vries’ Formula 1 story is one that many of this year’s rookies should heed before they make their debuts in Australia.
At the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, Alex Albon required emergency surgery on his appendix and Williams called Nyck de Vries up at the last minute.
In a season when the Grove-based team were struggling at the back of the grid, the Formula E champion thrived, finishing ninth and matching Nicholas Latifi’s season points tally in just one race.
De Vries then benefitted from the turmoil within Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri and when they needed a replacement for Pierre Gasly after his move to Alpine was confirmed, the Dutchman was given the nod.
However, the 29-year-old was unable to continue the good form he showed in that one-off outing and after 10 races, De Vries was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.
Speaking on a podcast with Idreau, De Vries has now explained the advice he was given by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after he lost his seat.
Wolff admitted he was a big fan of De Vries after he was let go by AlphaTauri, but never found a place for him in the Silver Arrows’ line-up.
Toto Wolff told Nyck de Vries to go to university after losing his Formula 1 seat
De Vries was talking about what happened after he lost his F1 seat which included studying at Harvard University.
The Dutchman explained: “I did an executive program at Harvard, so it was nothing major, also because I still didn’t really have the time for it even though I wasn’t racing, I was sorting out my future in Formula E and WEC.
“We started testing in September, so actually my downtime was not that long.
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“Basically, Toto advised me to do it. We had a coffee together and quite a few people who work closely with him did this specific executive program, so I had time on my hands and I’ve always been very curious and somehow I have some regrets not really having the time or chance to study and finish my education.
“So, I thought it was a good idea to do and a good experience to see whether in the future I maybe want to go for a proper bachelor’s [degree] or whatever I feel like might help me.”
Nyck de Vries explains his relationship with Toto Wolff at Mercedes
De Vries was asked about his relationship with Wolff during his time as a Mercedes development driver and said: “Oh yeah, many times [I spoke with him].
“When I was at Mercedes, we had a very good relationship and we lived very close to each other, so we bumped into each other a lot at the same coffee place.
“I felt very much part of the Mercedes family, so he was a great support and supporter and he was always there to listen and to help or give advice, so certainly he has been very good for me.”
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De Vries’ racing record is extremely impressive, having won several junior series, including the 2019 Formula 2 championship ahead of Latifi, Zhou Guanyu and one-time F1 driver Jack Aitken.
His 2020-21 Formula E title win is arguably the highlight of his career, although he’s now an established star in WEC having finished third in last season’s Hypercar championship.
He’s back in Formula E with Mahindra Racing now although it’s hard to see De Vries making the jump back to F1 any time soon.
