Does De Vries perform in Formula 1 in his first year?

Tsunoda as teammate

For De Vries, finally having a permanent place in Formula 1 by 2023 is a dream come true. Besides AlphaTauri, Williams also seemed a serious option for the Dutchman, but it has now signed for Red Bull's sister team after all. Indeed, Pierre Gasly left there for Alpine, leaving a spot vacant.

AlphaTauri seems a good position for De Vries to get into F1. Yuki Tsunoda will start his third year in Formula 1 next year. The Japanese has proved fast, but also not exactly consistent. If anything De Vries has been consistent throughout his career. A good duo you would say in advance.

For De Vries, in terms of benchmark, it also looks like a nice entry. As mentioned, Tsunoda has proved fast, especially over one lap, but Pierre Gasly he did not yet manage to beat over a full year. So we are not talking about a world-class talent at the moment, and so we need not fear that De Vries will just be run off.

The disadvantage of Tsunoda as a teammate is his ties with Honda. Now that Red Bull has extended its ties with Honda, a Japanese driver will also be a big desire of the engine manufacturer. Red Bull will not necessarily have to comply, but it does give the Japanese driver an edge. So De Vries will have to step up to the plate.

Pressure from Helmut Marko

For one thing is certain: a seat at AlphaTauri is not for life. Franz Tost's team is a training team for Red Bull and if you don't perform, you can be pushed aside in no time. Think of Daniil Kvyat who was replaced in the middle of a season and Brendon Hartley who was allowed to leave after just one year.

De Vries will be 28 when the F1 season starts and thus no longer the youngest driver. If he wants to have a chance of a longer career in F1, he would benefit from beating his younger team-mate, even if he has more experience in the highest class of motorsport.

Indeed, at Red Bull there is always a queue of talents waiting for their chance in F1 too, but the first line of them is not that strong. It is also why De Vries gets the chance from Helmut Marko, and not a Liam Lawson, Juri Vips, Dennis Hauger, Jehan Daruvala or Ayumu Iwasa. Iwasa and Hauger are dangerous clients for next season, though. They will want to impress in year two in F2 to still make the step up to F1.

The biggest danger to De Vries' spot was driving in Formula 3 in 2022. Isack Hadjar is only 18 years old, but managed to finish third in the Formula 3 championship as a rookie. With three wins under his belt, he should live up to his status as a top talent in F2 in 2023. If that goes well, Marko has already said, he has a chance of securing a place at AlphaTauri.

De Vries will therefore have to perform immediately in his first year. If he is the inferior in the duel with Tsunoda, then because of his links with Honda, it is a simple sum for Red Bull to retain Yuki alongside a possible new talent. Performing in the first year, however, De Vries has not succeeded many times in his career.

De Vries as a rookie

De Vries has an impressive CV if you look at titles won in the rookie classes, but none of those titles De Vries won in his first year. Always he needed at least one year to get in and sometimes even two. He won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps in 2014 in his third season and his Formula 2 title also came in year three. The Formula E title De Vries won a bit quicker, namely in his second season.

So it is a great opportunity for De Vries to debut in Formula 1, but he will now have to perform in his first year to secure a longer stay at AlphaTauri. The pressure will be on right away, but after having to wait so long, every race in Formula 1 is probably already a bonus for De Vries. So there may not even be any real pressure.