Dutch Formula One drivers are a rare breed. Since the start of the modern era, in 1952, only 17 Dutchmen have taken part in the sport, mainly with little to no success. As a matter of fact, most of them have been nothing if not forgettable, with the exception of Max Verstappen, of course. And before him? His father Jos was the next-best Dutch driver, while Jan Lammers had the third-most starts, even though he has no F1 points to show for it.
But at Monza we were treated to not just one Dutch F1 driver, but two! On the same grid, no less – and both of them score points. Admittedly, this is what we’ve come to expect from Verstappen, but hell, we didn’t even expect the second Dutchman at all! Then came appendicitis for Alex Albon, and suddenly Nyck de Vries found himself strapped into a Williams F1 car, not only to test or take part in a practice session, but to actually race the thing.
For those who don’t know: De Vries is a bit of a thing. At 27 years of age, he isn’t quite a baby anymore, but even so, his racing CV is impressive. And he’s spent a lot of time in F1 cars, especially if you consider that he’s had exactly one start in his career to date. And that on top of a topsy turvy weekend that saw him start FP1 in an Aston Martin, before being drafted into the Williams. At which point the Dutchman pulled out all the stops.
Remember, De Vries had zero milage in the FW44 at Monza, but he hopped into the car and set about his business in a highly professional manner that saw him progress to Q2 while teammate Nicholas Latifi – one of Williams’ regular line-up – didn’t make the cut. De Vries went on to set the 8th-fastest time in qualifying, before driving a steady race to finish in 9th place, scoring two points in the process.
Let’s put that in perspective quickly: Of the 16 other Dutchmen to have graced the F1 circuits since 1952, 11 scored zero points in their careers, putting De Vries in company of giants like Jos and Max Verstappen, though he is still 1 890.5 points behind the latter. With that said, Jos only scored 17 points in his 106 race starts, so if De Vries continues his current form, he’ll score significantly more points than Max’s dad.
Granted, the Dutchman’s race wasn’t without controversy – he received a reprimand for ‘erratic driving’, after stomping on the brakes under safety car conditions near the end of the race. Had he received a penalty instead of the reprimand, De Vries would’ve been docked five seconds, and with all the cars bunched up at the finish due to the safety car, that would’ve most certainly dropped him out of the points. But his status as a ‘stand-in’ driver, together with the fact that he first drove the FW44 during FP3 were presented as mitigating factors, and the FIA agreed to let De Vries and Williams hang onto the points.
This is quite significant in the world of Williams, who are stone last in the constructors’ standings for the year. Their six points – two of which were score by De Vries in Monza – leave them 19 points shy of Aston Martin, and 27 points behind Alphatauri. Overall, a dismal showing for Williams, whose only points prior to De Vries’ contribution came thanks to Alex Albon. One has to wonder what could have been had De Vries found his way into the team earlier in the season, especially if he could’ve partnered with Albon, rather than the hapless Latifi.
For the moment, Albon is sure to be back at his post by the end of the month, relegating the clearly talented De Vries to a support role once again. But in a sport where the driver market is currently in full swing, I’m pretty sure that the Dutchman’s performance this weekend will have drawn plenty of attention – both from teams and other drivers, especially those hanging onto their seats by a thread.
In F1, the future is usually as clear as mud, but there’s no denying that this Dutchie can drive a car. He has a bright future ahead of him, and might just give the Dutch nation a second hero to cheer in the wonderful world of Formula One.
Oh, and the other Dutchman? He started in seventh and went on to win the race comfortably. Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V. Simple as that. Sadly, his dominance is blunting the season somewhat for the fans, but then that’s hardly new – it was Lewis before; and Schumacher before him. Oh, and four years of Vettel and Prost, not to mention the five years of Fangio. Fact is, there is always someone who dominates. Until he doesn’t…
Waldo van der Waal is a motoring journalist with nearly three decades of experience. He has worked as an F1 correspondent for various publications over the years, including WIEL and DRIVE magazines, in the late nineties. Since then, he has travelled the globe to follow some of the greatest motorsport events on the planet, including many F1 races and Le Mans. He has been closely associated with the Dakar Rally for the last ten years, worked with Fernando Alonso during his attempt at the race, and remains in touch with the wonderful world of Formula 1.