Nyck de Vries‘ journey to Formula 1 could’ve looked completely different. The Dutch racing driver had options with Ferrari and Red Bull before choosing McLaren’s young driver program – a decision that would shape his career for nearly a decade.
“When in 2009, I was still in juniors. We won the European Championship and all the WSKs,” de Vries told the Cool Room Podcast. “That winter we signed with McLaren.”
He was just getting started in racing when McLaren picked him up in 2010.
The path to McLaren wasn’t straightforward though. De Vries had meetings with some of racing’s biggest names, including a sit-down with Dr. Helmut Marko from Red Bull in Monza. He even visited Ferrari’s legendary headquarters in Maranello, meeting with Stefano Domenicali – who’s now running Formula 1 itself.
“We just felt that the approach McLaren had towards their young driver program was something we felt comfortable with,” he explained. “Hence we decided to take that direction.”
De Vries stuck with McLaren for eight years before leaving in 2019.
His F1 dream finally came true in 2023 when he landed a seat with AlphaTauri, taking over from Pierre Gasly. But the stint proved short-lived – he was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo after just 10 races.
Now he’s bounced back in impressive fashion.
For 2024, de Vries is pulling double duty. He’s racing in Formula E with Mahindra while also competing for Toyota’s prestigious Gazoo Racing team in the World Endurance Championship. Both teams have confirmed he’ll stay on for next year too.
