Mercedes may have a replacement at hand for Lewis Hamilton if the Briton decides to hang his helmet after 2023.
At the Italian GP, Nyck de Vries impressed the whole F1 community by showcasing excellent driving skills. The Dutchman who was called on a sudden notice to stand in for Alex Albon scored points on his debut with Williams.
Although the 27-year-old has previously driven an F1 car in multiple free practice sessions they are nothing compared to the main race and full qualifying. The race was like a 2-hour audition by De Vries proving his worth.
F1 fans already want the Dutchman to replace the leaving Nicholas Latifi at Williams. Nevertheless, can the 27-year-old also get a shot at Mercedes?
Wolff has talked about De Vries on multiple occasions. The Austrian wasn’t short on praising the Formula E world champion for his impeccable debut at Monza:
“Nyck deserves to have a place in F1. He has shown that because of the limited experience he had from driving around with the rake in FP1,”
Wolff told reporters.
“Then he was thrown into the cold in FP3, not even at the beginning but at the end – that is a line in the sand. It puts down a marker.”
Many teams in the hunt for De Vries
Following his debut, many teams including Alpine, AlphaTauri, Williams, and even Mercedes are being linked with the Dutchman.
As a Mercedes reserve driver, De Vries might get a shot with Silver Arrows in future.
Lewis Hamilton’s contract expires after 2023. De Vries could drive at Williams or any other team in 2022. Then, Mercedes might look into the Dutchman as an option to replace Hamilton.
Being Formula E and Formula 2 Champion, De Vries also come in the side with a lot of experience.
Furthermore, he also has a good relationship with Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton also praised De Vries for his debut wishing to see him on the grid for 2023.
He has surely shown the class like George Russell showed in Shakir 2020 replacing Hamilton. So, will Mercedes go for Nyck De Vries as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton or will the team look out for some other young prospect to partner Russell?
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