Capito: De Vries has always been on our candidate list

According to Williams boss Jost Capito, Nick de Vries was already on the list of candidates for a spot in the team for 2023 before his unscheduled debut in the Italian Grand Prix.

De Vries showed impressive professionalism: he got behind the wheel of an unknown car for the first time on Saturday as Alex Albon’s replacement, and it took him one training session to familiarize himself with driving the FW44 and qualify for the second part. of the qualification. Then, in the race on Sunday, he took 9th place and already earned points in his debut Grand Prix.

“I’ve known Nick for a while and know his abilities,” said Capito. “I expected him to be able to perform at that level, and he’s done a fantastic job.

Getting into the cockpit of a car that is so hard to drive and not making a single mistake is all very difficult, because there are many different switches, and all this has to be learned. Although Nick hasn’t driven a Formula 1 vehicle for a long time, except perhaps during the first practice, this is a completely different task in terms of complexity, because the driver does not feel pressure there. But Nick learned everything and did everything right despite the pressure – it’s just great.

It should be noted not only his ability to handle the car, but also an intelligent approach to the race. In Monza he had to defend and attack – in the two hours of his debut race in Formula 1 he had to perform all kinds of tasks. He did it and I have a lot of respect for him.

We are going to find out what situation he is in, if he has any other obligations, and then he will have to make his own choice. Nick and I are good friends, yes. Let’s see how events develop. But he has always been on our list of key candidates.”

According to Capito, not everyone understands how urgent it was to find a replacement for the ailing Alex Albon, which is why they underestimate the complexity of the task that Nick managed so successfully: “We did not immediately understand that we had to find a replacement. because we had to wait for the results of Alex’s hospital investigation to understand what’s going on with him.

So the decision was made very, very late. Saturday after 11pm we had to make a choice – in my opinion this just emphasizes how hard it was for Nick.

After 11 he was already at the Paddock Club, drinking coffee and entertaining the guests, and then we come and say, “Okay, let’s go, take your helmet and overalls and get behind the wheel.” But he did a great job, it was incredible.”