Focus on F1 came at a price: 'Not showing the best of myself'

De Vries' momentum

The end of 2021 appears to be the time for De Vries to make the switch to Formula 1. The Dutchman has previously won the F2 title and also won the Formula E title on behalf of Mercedes in 2021, beating teammate and former F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

As an FE driver and reserve F1 driver at Mercedes, De Vries has not disappeared from the F1 paddock, making it no surprise that he is linked to the vacant spot at Williams in late 2021. Mercedes' client is listening to Toto Wolff's recommendation, but De Vries just missed out.

"That year I became world champion in Formula E and thought all the pieces of the puzzle would fall together. It was between Alex Albon and me at Williams and in the end they chose Alex. Then I did think: shit, how am I going to keep this momentum going for another 12 months? It's such a huge chess game. All scenarios were constantly running through my head," said De Vries at De Telegraaf.

Manager of your own career

So in 2022, De Vries is focusing more on his career. It does, he tells himself, come at the expense of his performance on the track. "If I am honest, I have to say that last year I did not show the best of myself outside Formula 1. My big goal was to secure my future. I was the manager of my own career. You can't build a future on hope, so I was busy with all kinds of things. That was very tiring and had an impact on my performance."

Yet that approach did work. With his role at Mercedes, De Vries remained in the sights of many F1 teams and came completely on the radar with his strong foray at Williams. However, the thing that earned him the seat at AlphaTauri was the fact that he made the call to Helmut Marko himself. In 2023, the focus does go fully to F1 and De Vries works with a manager for the first time: Guillaume Le Goff, also Pierre Gasly's manager.