Gary Anderson on Nick de Vries’ possible prospects

Gary Anderson, former race car designer and now The Race expert, believes Nick de Vries has every chance to start the World Championship next year and gives the Dutch racer some advice.

Gary Anderson: “At first glance, Nick de Vries did an excellent job at Monza. However, on this slippery track, Williams could expect a good performance. In addition, numerous penalties affecting the starting positions could also skew the results of the race, so it is still quite difficult to speculate about how de Vries will perform on other tracks.

Still, his result confirms that he is a talented driver and deserves a chance to prove himself in Formula 1.

I’m pretty sure Alex Albon could have made it to the qualifiers final, but Nick would have been close if he hadn’t made a mistake. As he spent the first Friday practice with Aston Martin it meant he was used to the track and already had speed, so when he was offered at the last minute to get behind the wheel of a Williams car it was already a bit easier for him.

He worked very quickly with a new team before him, and this suggests that he knows how to adapt to the situation and does not look for excuses.

If I were manager de Vries, I would immediately agree to sign the first two-year contract that can be offered. Whether it’s Williams or Alpine, it doesn’t matter. What results these teams will show next year will depend on many factors, including random ones.

But perhaps the atmosphere in Williams and the collaboration with Alex Albon are more conducive to a normal adjustment to Formula 1. Yet the influence of politics is more noticeable in Alpine. In addition, Williams uses Mercedes power units and continuing the business relationship with Mercedes is also a factor that should not be written off.”