Max Verstappen claimed his fifth straight victory by winning the Italian Grand Prix and edged ever closer to the championship title, but it was the brilliant effort from Nyck de Vries on debut that had everyone talking.
The Mercedes reserve was drafted into Williams on Saturday morning in place of Alex Albon who had fallen ill with appendicitis.
De Vries started in eighth, alongside Max Verstappen after grid penalties, but kept his cool and managed to pick up two points for ninth place, just behind Pierre Gasly. He has now pushed Nicholas Latifi to 21st in a 20 driver championship. Embarrassing much?
According to formula1.com De Vries says “Jumping on a car on the drivers’ parade and seeing all the excitement for Formula 1, getting the opportunity to race, starting in the top 10, executing a good race, scoring points debut, being called ‘ Driver of the Day’ – it’s been amazing.
The memes came in thick and fast about Nyck outqualifying his teammate, like this one.
Someone managed to capture his joy with the drivers as Beatles and why not?
Then there was this hard pill to swallow for Latifi.
This one was also shared far and wide.
When asked about his future in Formula 1 De Vries said “Ultimately, it’s not up to me to decide whether I should have a seat or not. Of course I can only do my job. We live in a competitive industry, so you’re as good as your last race, and you’re always expected to perform – luckily I did that this weekend and I grabbed this opportunity with both hands”
One person who has definitely taken note of De Vries’ extraordinary results is Toto Wolf. He says “… [He] jumped in a car that he hadn’t driven, straight into FP3. Yeah, it showed what he is capable of.”
If Nyck de Vries doesn’t get a contract next year, I’m going to eat my shoe.
