Nyck de Vries has become caught up in a legal battle ahead of his full-season Formula 1 debut this year.
De Vries was signed to AlphaTauri for the 2023 campaign after impressing in a one-off appearance with Williams at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.
De Vries substituted for Alexander Albon, who was unwell for the race weekend.
However, it is being reported that de Vries’ outing at Monza has caused legal issues, as real estate millionaire Jeroen Schothorst is demanding a reimbursement for money he provided to de Vries to fund his junior career.
De Telegraaf reports that Schothorst lent de Vries €250,000 through his Investrand investment company in 2018 when de Vries was competing in Formula 2.
Documents state that the loan would see de Vries pay three per cent interest per year, as well as 50 per cent of income from F1-related activities.
If de Vries was not signed to race in F1 by the end of 2022, it is said that the loan would have been waived.
But an issue has arisen amid a difference of opinion as to whether de Vries became an F1 driver in 2022 due to his Williams outing at Monza.
The report says that the agreement between the pair highlighted a ‘test driver’ position, with no mention of de Vries holding a ‘reserve driver’ role.
It is believed that de Vries has repaid almost €190,000 of the loan – but if the court rules against the Dutchman, he would be required to give Schothorst half of his AlphaTauri paycheck.
A final decision on the matter is set to be provided by The District Court of Amsterdam on February 3.
De Telegraaf states that an offer to repay the full €250,000 in addition to interest has been rejected by Schothorst.
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