Jolyon Palmer about Nick de Vries’ flashy debut…

Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer commented on Nick de Vries’ impressive debut in his traditional column.

Jolyon Palmer: “In any race series it will be very difficult for you to suddenly replace the lead driver, especially in Formula 1. Experienced racers work in a comfort zone, they know how everything works, but here you learn along the way and are constantly one step behind .

Nick de Vries did not participate in practice at the wheel of Williams on Friday and did not prepare for the race at all this weekend until he was told on Saturday morning that he had to replace Alex Albon.

Almost without preparation, he went into battle with the best racers in the world over the weekend. Ninth in the race is a great result, but even more surprising is how he achieved it.

During Friday’s first practice session, Nick got behind the wheel of Vettel’s car in an Aston Martin, allowing him to feel comfortable on the track, where he would not be racing that weekend. Aston Martin is not considering De Vries for next season – they have a contract with two riders, they used him as a young driver in training – every team is obliged to do so.

Switching from an Aston Martin to a Williams on Saturday morning would have been more difficult if not for his experience with the Mercedes power unit. The technical procedures and tuning of the power plants of different manufacturers are very different, but all teams with Mercedes engines work with them in the same way.

The bigger challenge was adapting to the Williams car, to the new race engineer, to the way the team worked this weekend. Everything had to be done in a very short time.

After just 21 laps in the third practice session – it took a long time to change the settings after the high Albon – Nick performed well in qualifying behind the wheel of a car that sometimes struggled to make it to the second session.

Nicolas Latifi dropped out in the first session, which clearly does not increase his chances of staying in Formula 1 next season. It was clear that Latifi felt the pressure as he locked the tires in the first corner and missed the chance to improve his result. De Vries also lost the last fast lap and went off the track, but his last result was enough to move on.

But I was even more impressed by his performance in the race. Albon was on average half a second faster than Latifi on Saturday, so De Vries’ lead in qualifying was hardly surprising, but Nick drove the race flawlessly and earned Williams points.

After the race, Nick said he barely slept on Saturday night, nervous for his debut in the race, which saw him start in a high eighth position alongside compatriot and championship leader Max Verstappen. But it wasn’t noticeable when he was able to pull away on soft tires, which Williams used at the start for better traction, to maintain his top ten position.

After that, De Vries remained calm, in the “DRS train” behind Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren, in a situation where any mistake could break the chain, leaving him vulnerable to an attack from behind. Listening to his conversations with the engineer, it was amazing how well he could read the course of the race, consult on the settings and make suggestions for strategy.

Being able to discuss fine-tuning differentials and adjusting braking patterns in the heat of the moment can make all the difference in an ever-changing environment where tires deteriorate and connections change.

Although Nick de Vries is a debutant, he is not young and very experienced. He is 27 years old, he is a Formula 2 and Formula E champion, he has shown real maturity and great speed, a good understanding of the car and the ability to adjust the settings during the race to get the best result. achieve.