Both drivers met for the first time when they competed in karts, although in different categories, since the Dutchman is somewhat older than the British and was promoted earlier. However, they battled it out wheel to wheel in Formula 2 in the 2018 season, where George Russell clinched the title ahead of Lando Norris, Alexander Albon and Nyck de Vries himself.
The Dutchman was negotiating with several Formula 1 teams for his Grand Circus debut from 2023 after his stellar substitution at Williams for the injured Albon in Italy. Finally, de Vries got a starting seat at AlphaTauri after Pierre Gasly left for Alpine, and his rival in the prelude to the highest category of motorsport recognized that he deserved it.
“Of those of us in karting, Nyck [de Vries] was the only one who hadn’t made it to Formula 1, and he probably deserved to,” Russell told Motorsport.com when asked about the Dutchman’s move to Formula 1. Faenza.
“So those five drivers, including myself, Alex [Albon], Max [Verstappen], Charles [Leclerc], and Nyck, who were there when we were 11 or 12 years old. Like I said, Nyck was the only one who didn’t. achieved, so I’m happy to see him there.
When it was put to him on the table if he valued him more after they worked together at Mercedes, since the Formula E champion was a reserve in the Brackley team, he replied: “I have always valued him, in karts he was the rival to beat I never ran against him, but of all of us, he was the most successful there.”
“I’ve never stopped appreciating it, I think to get to Formula 1 you have to do the right job at the right time when there’s an opportunity on the grid, and sometimes the stars don’t align,” said the Briton. “But with the number of stars that aligned at Monza, it may have made up for the misfortune of those years.”
De Vries will be 28 years old at the start of the next Formula 1 season, and Russell admitted he is intrigued to see how he will fare after gaining experience in other categories: “I have no doubt that he will do well, although I am intrigued to see as it does”.
“He has all the chances to be a great Formula 1 driver, I’m sure he will do very well,” the Mercedes driver continued before Lando Norris also spoke about the Dutchman.
“It’s clear he’s a very good driver,” said the McLaren driver when asked by Motorsport.com about the new AlphaTauri driver. “I think he’s shown that from the very beginning in karting, he’s completely dominated there, he’s Formula E world champion, and so much more, so he’s a top driver.
“He deserves it, he did a good job at Monza when he got into the car. He’s proven himself, and we’ll see next year what he can do,” said the other young Englishman on the grid.
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