At Monza, due to circumstances, Nick de Vries replaced Alex Albon at Williams, who had to undergo surgery last weekend to remove his appendix, and the Dutchman did an excellent job, finishing 9th and even being recognized as the “Rider of the Day”.
Q: The fans chose you as “Driver of the Day”, and this happened after your debut race in Formula 1, where you were able to earn points. What emotions are you experiencing right now?
Nick de Vries: This is a real privilege! One can only dream of such a debut! The past 24 hours have become a complete turmoil for me, I didn’t even have time to realize what was happening. I slept very badly because I was in a strong nervous excitement, different thoughts went through my head and in the morning I just had to force myself to have breakfast.
But the closer the race was, the more I wanted to get to the start – all this show, the parade of pilots and everything else helped me tune in. I am very grateful to have been given such an opportunity and glad that we managed it well together with the team.
Q: It seems that before the start of the race on your car the brakes were smoking – were there any problems with this?
Nick de Vries: I think I overdid it a bit when I warmed them up on the way to the grid.
Q: You literally fought well on the track from start to finish – did you feel like everything was going really well?
Nick de Vries: Of course I understood that we were lucky – thanks to the fines some riders got and a few retirements. But it was important to take full advantage of all these opportunities and earn points. No one will take this result from us and I am proud that we have achieved this.
Q: You were not well prepared to ride this weekend and now your shoulder muscles are aching. Tell us about your impressions, how hard was it to drive the entire distance of the Grand Prix?
Nick de Vries: I was also lucky that this job is not the highest physical activity. I have to admit that my physical preparation is not good enough. I do a lot of things: I work on a simulator, I participate in endurance races, I spend a lot of time on the road – generally I try to take advantage of the different opportunities. And if there is such an opportunity as this weekend, it should not be missed.
When the safety car pulled onto the track I was able to relax a bit and at that moment I felt my arm just start to cramp. I could hardly move it. But now everything is gradually recovering…
Q: Agree, the best training is racing…
Nick de Vries: Right.
Q: Is there a chance you will get behind the wheel of a Williams car in Singapore again? How long is the recovery period after Alex’s surgery? And it’s actually a really tough race…
Nick de Vries: Thanks for reminding me, but I’m no expert in medical matters. Now I’m just really happy that I earned points in Monza, and I want to enjoy this moment.
Q: Can you tell us if there are any negotiations about your future career?
Nick de Vries: No, it’s not all about me. It is clear that I have no influence on decisions about the composition of the teams, but I repeat: I am glad that we took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself.
Coincidentally, my father was in Monaco these days, and he asked someone for a car to get here to Monza. This morning we met, but we didn’t even talk, because both could burst into tears.
We just hugged and before the race he came to the grid – it’s great that my father witnessed today’s events. Of course, for years my family has done everything they can to make this possible, and now no one can take it from us.
Source: F1 News

I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.