In January 2023, former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries became involved in legal proceedings in the Netherlands. A lawsuit was filed against him by local businessman Jeroen Schothorst, who financed the driver’s career.
In the lawsuit, Schothorst indicated that he borrowed 250,000 euros through his investment company De Vries. In return, the businessman expected to pay 3% per year and 50% of all Nick’s earnings if he enters Formula 1. In addition, the deal included a termination, on the condition that De Vries does not end up in Formula 1 before the end of 2022. This clause of the contract became the subject of a lawsuit.
In September 2022, Nyck de Vries drove at Monza, replacing Alex Albon at the wheel of Williams. Schotthorst believes that the terms of the contract have been met and that he is due the correct payments, while the drivers’ representatives have a different opinion on this, as Nick did not complete the full season.
The court followed de Vries and rejected Schothorst’s claims. The businessman disagreed with the decision and appealed. Recently, the Amsterdam court re-examined the circumstances of the case and ruled in favor of Jeroen Schothorst.
As a result, Nyck de Vries must pay Schotthorst 50% of his earnings earned during his time as a Formula 1 driver after 2022, including his AlphaTauri salary and any personal sponsorship income during that period.
Jeroen Schothorst issued a statement commenting on the court’s decision: “We supported Nick at a crucial point in his career, when no one else would.
I am pleased that the court has ruled in our favor, but I obviously regret that this procedure was necessary. We would have preferred to arrange everything by mutual agreement, without litigation, but unfortunately our attempts to do so were repeatedly rejected by Nick and his lawyer. A trip to court was therefore inevitable.
However, this does not alter the fact that I wish Nick every success in his already impressive motorsport career, even though he will no longer compete in Formula 1.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
