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'De Vries mature enough' - Montoya

'De Vries mature enough' - Montoya

29-01-2023 19:27 Last update: 20:47
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GPblog.com

Nyck de Vries has already made his debut in Formula 1, but in 2023 he will complete a full season for the first time. At AlphaTauri, the 'rookie' will face Yuki Tsunoda as a teammate. Juan Pablo Montoya thinks the 27-year-old driver, who has already won championships in Formula 2 and Formula E, will not be very inferior to his Japanese teammate.

Helmut Marko once said that De Vries should be the team leader next season. A somewhat remarkable statement, given that De Vries has only done few official miles in Formula 1 and because Tsunoda is already entering his third season. Expectations around De Vries are high and at AlphaTauri they especially hope that the Dutchman's experience will help him achieve good results.

Montoya was named by Motorsport.com asking whether De Vries will perform better than Tsunoda in his first year. The former Formula 1 driver thinks the 22-year-old Tsunoda will dominate at the beginning of the season, especially at circuits where De Vries has not yet driven such as Melbourne and Saudi Arabia. When the 'European season' arrives, the Dutchman will undoubtedly be a lot closer to Tsunoda, is Montoya's expectation.

Pressure in Formula 1

Driving in the top class of motorsport creates quite a lot of pressure. In the past, we have seen several drivers succumb to this pressure. Montoya is curious to see how De Vries deals with it. "Sometimes when you don't feel pressure, you perform very well, but as soon as you start feeling pressure, you start struggling. But I think Nyck is mature enough."