Andrew Shovlin, chief engineer at Mercedes, would not be surprised if De Vries ends up at Red Bull Racing after this season. Next season, De Vries will play for AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team. Shovlin has worked with the Dutchman for a long time and sees him as a future Grand Prix winner.
‘We might regret letting him go’, Shovlin begins in the book Max & Nick by Ivo Pakvis and Stijn Keuris. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him in the Red Bull factory team soon. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that happens in the next twelve months or so.’
‘De Vries has the ability to win races’
According to Shovlin, De Vries has a lot of potential. “I have no doubt that Nyck has the ability to win races if he’s in the right team with the right car. Whether he can become world champion depends on himself. Because of his age he has less time for that, but he makes up for it with his experience.’
Before this, De Vries was still employed by Mercedes. “We agreed with Nyck that he could choose the best option if we couldn’t place him with a Mercedes team. He fit in very well with our team, but you can’t stop everyone. He was the ideal test and reserve driver for us,” concludes Shovlin.
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