Nyck de Vries says that he is experiencing a “first day of school” feel at the start of his Formula 1 career, despite the vast experience he boasts in racing.
De Vries has been signed to partner Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri for the 2023 campaign, having impressed during a one-off outing with Williams in Italy last year.
Despite being classified as a rookie in F1, de Vries has dipped into various motorsport categories over the last several years.
After rising through the junior ranks and winning the Formula 2 championship in 2019, de Vries transitioned to Formula E, where he also won the title.
He had outings in the World Endurance Championship (in which he was an LMP2 race winner) and the European Le Mans.
De Vries also held a role with the Mercedes F1 team for several years, providing him with insight into the day-to-day operations of a squad in motorsport’s most popular category.
Although the 28-year-old has plenty of motorsport experience, he says integrating himself into the world of F1 still feels relatively new to him.
“In terms of the work with the team and my preparation towards the racing, I would say it’s not miles away from what I was used to in terms of professional racing,” de Vries said.
“But still when you go through the experience for the first time, it is a bit different, and you need to adapt, and suddenly everything, it does still feel like a first day at school kind of thing. Let’s put it that way.
“Of course I’ve been around for some time, so you kind of know what to expect, and you at least know how teams operate and work.
“But then when you actually run through the process, it’s always a bit different.”
De Vries has finished 14th at his first two races for AlphaTauri, with the team being just one of two outfits (the other being McLaren) that have not scored points so far in 2023.
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