Williams team boss James Vowles believes that rookies in Formula 1 should be given more time to prove themselves. In doing so he seems to be indirectly talking a bit about Nyck de Vries, who only had ten races to show what he could do. However, Rookie Logan Sargeant was given plenty of time by Williams and will still be in that car in 2024.
De Vries had to pack his things and leave prior to the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Two other rookies, Oscar Piastri and Sargeant, were able to continue their careers in the meantime. The two gentlemen from McLaren and Williams survived their debut year and were able to show their teams what they can do. Many believe that De Vries was given too little time by Red Bull, who only started to increase the pressure when performances were not as desired. “I think every rookie probably wasn’t able to show everything in 2023, because it was a tough year,” Vowles told KTM Summer Grill.
“Five or six years ago we did about 30,000 kilometers of testing with a driver before it was even decided to put him in a car,” the Brit continues. De Vries was part of Mercedes in 2022 and showed good things in the free practice sessions that he drove for Williams, Aston Martin, and Mercedes. He made a big impression during his debut in Italy in 2022. Soon after, the decision was made to place him in the AlphaTauri in 2023. ‘They need time to push the limits, because the step from another class to Formula 1 is enormous.’
De Vries came from the WEC and Formula E
The 28-year-old did not immediately get a seat in Formula 1 after winning the Formula 2 championship. He found his home in Formula E for a while, where he won the title in the 2020/21 season, and also managed achieve good performances in the World Endurance Championship. “Everything goes so much faster in Formula 1,” says Vowles. “And it takes a long time to get used to finding those limits.” De Vries’ Formula 1 adventure was short-lived, but at least he was not without a seat for long, the Dutchman will re-enter Formula E in 2024.
