Nyck learns his lessons
NYCK DE VRIES took himself back to school after he was dumped from Formula One – and is now a Harvard graduate.
The Dutchman arrived in F1 last season with the sort of CV even the world’s greatest could dream of – Formula E world champion, Formula 2 champion, two-time world karting champion.
But he lasted mere months at AlphaTauri before he was axed from the team to make way for Daniel Ricciardo’s return.
Heartbroken, but not defeated, De Vries quickly enrolled at the United States’ prestigious Harvard University to undertake an executive programme on negotiation and leadership.
But despite a newfound celebrity status as an international sports star, he did not find himself at the centre of any frat parties.
“I didn’t see any parties! I was very impressed,” joked De Vries. “They call them the ‘professional students’ and at 10pm at campus it is very quiet.
“Of course there are fraternities and communities but I didn’t see any of it!”
De Vries is back in world championship action in Formula E, where he forms part of the Mahindra team.
It has been nine months since he was told that he would be losing his seat in F1 just 10 races into the 2023 season, but the 29-yearold is philosophical about the experience.
“I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to fulfil my childhood dream,” he said. “Am I fully satisfied with how it worked out? No. I would have liked to have seen it pan out differently.
“But, equally, there is no real reason for regret. I don’t think I would have done anything differently.
“Everyone shares that dream and goal, so I think it was the right decision to pursue that opportunity. For many reasons, it didn’t quite work out and we move on, back in Formula E.”
De Vries is yet to score a point with Mahindra.
But, as he has bluntly pointed out to doubters in recent weeks, it is a team going through a transitional period and building for the future.
And when you delve deeper into the stats, you will see that De Vries has the second most overtakes of any driver on the grid this season.
He said: “I always knew that if things wouldn’t work out in Formula One, then I had a high desire to come back [to Formula E], hence why I travelled to the last race in London last season, to be back in the paddock and meet everyone again and see what kind of opportunities were available.
“Maybe that progress isn’t immediately visible in results as such.
“But I do feel like we are making steps and we hope to continue to build that foundation, so we can look to build a more efficient powertrain next season and more to come beyond that.”
■ WATCH Formula E’s Monaco E-Prix live on TNT Sports on Saturday.