Nyck De Vries happy to have made it through Formula 1 debut despite not getting any points
- Planet Sport writer
- 9 March 2023
AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries said he was "pretty satisfied" with his first race in Formula 1 but was left regretting a strategy choice that could have cost him and the team some points.
De Vries did not have the best time in qualifying and started the Bahrain Grand Prix from the back of the grid in 19th. Coincidentally, he was alongside Pierre Gasly, who he replaced at AlphaTauri.
Unfortunately, it did not take long for the Alpine driver to overtake him and leave the Dutchman in last place.
He showed a lot of character to battle his way back up to 11th but a late strategy call to stay out instead of pit for new tires under a virtual safety car meant he was unable to hold his position to those around him who had pitted and ended up 14th.
"I'm pretty satisfied with our race. Naturally, it can always be better, but after our first couple of days in the weekend, it was kind of a good comeback," De Vries said.
"Not only in terms of positions, because obviously there were some retirements, but also in terms of performance.
"I felt like our race pace was decent, we just missed out on the last busy pit stop which then left me out on the hards for many, many laps, but you've got to play your cards and ultimately I think it was a decent race for us.
"It was important to get the experience, get the mileage in and I think we did well… I was driving on the hard compound tyre for the remainder of the race, but ultimately, the mileage and experience will help us for the season.
"Given where we started, it was a good day because we could still fight some cars around us… Points weren't possible today, so we'll look ahead to Saudi Arabia, which is a bit quicker, meaning the midfield will look different again.
He concluded: "We know there's more work to do, but as a team, we'll continue to work hard on the areas that require improvements to give us a stronger performance moving forward."
