De Vries on incidents with Magnussen: 'Apparently we like each other'

Nyck de Vries qualified last for the Austrian Grand Prix and so AlphaTauri decided to make some changes to the set-up of his AT04. The Dutchman finished fifteenth on the Red Bull Ring, making up the necessary places. Nevertheless, the gap towards the midfield teams remains large.

De Vries needed a trouble-free weekend after a difficult start to his debut Formula 1 season, and apart from a minor incident with Kevin Magnussen, he managed to do just that. " I think it was a solid race, definitely the maximum possible from our perspective," the Dutchman told Viaplay.

He continued: "The race was mainly about pace and relegation, in the beginning you could make a difference in that if you came in early. The first virtual safety car came just not quite timed right, but nevertheless I think it was a solid race." De Vries had gone in just before the virtual safety car, losing time compared to his competitors who were able to take advantage by making their stop during the VSC.

De Vries summed up, "A fine race and I think the maximum possible, but we just came up a bit short. We made quite a lot of changes. I don't know if it was necessarily faster, but in any case it's important information for us now in the upcoming races to see how we do get a bit more out of our package."

In the F1 race in Spielberg, De Vries and Magnussen ran into each other again, as they had already done in the Canadian Grand Prix. About the time penalty he received from the stewards for that, the AlphaTauri driver does not want to say much. "It's not for me to judge on that, that's racing and the stewards decide on that. Fortunately, I was able to build up a big enough gap behind me. Apparently we like each other and we find each other on the track," he concluded with a wink.