“He’s Not One of the Best…”: With Latifi as the Benchmark, Nyck de Vries Dismissed as a Threat to F1 Grid

The Singapore Grand Prix weekend is underway, with the practice sessions behind us and the qualifying still to come. The Marina Bay Street Circuit will be host to a lot of excitement. However, the weekend will see a changed grid compared to Monza, with Alex Albon back and Nyck de Vries back on the sidelines.

The sidelined Dutchman put on quite a show at the Italian GP with points finish in his debut F1 race. Following the powerful performance, De Vries became a wanted talent ahead of the 2023 season. However, not everyone was impressed with the F2 and Formula E champion’s F1 debut race.

On the Chequered Flag podcast, Formula E commentator, Jack Nicholls, shared his thoughts. When asked if De Vries’s performance surprised him, Nicholls shared his honest opinion.

“I don’t know if I was surprised or not because I think the problem you have is the benchmark of (Nicholas) Latifi,” he said.

“He is a very good driver, Nyck de Vries, there’s no doubt about that. And he won Formula E last year. For me personally, I don’t think he’s one of the best in Formula E, just in my opinion. But I’m not putting him up in the top three, personally!” Nicholls added.

Read More: The Most Wanted Man On The Paddock, Nyck de Vries, Left Powerless: “Not in a Luxurious Situation”

The commentator also revealed he made a wager with Formula E driver Sam Bird. Bird did not think De Vries will out-qualify Latifi, a wager he obviously lost.

However, it wasn’t all bad for De Vries in the podcast. There was one aspect of the Dutchman’s racing for Williams that impressed a former racing driver.

Nyck de Vries impressed with his mentality capacity during the Monza race

Speaking further in the podcast, former racer and now columnist Jolyon Palmer was impressed with one characteristic of De Vries’s performance in Monza. Palmer pointed out that De Vries, despite his recent F1 debut, has a lot of experience and is a mature driver compared to other rookies.

“What impressed me about De Vries was actually his mental capacity throughout the weekend. I think you could tell he’s more experienced than he was as an F2 champion,” he said.

WATCH THIS STORY: How Fast Can F1 Cars Go? Comparisons With MotoGP, IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula E

There were a lot of varying opinions about the Dutch rookie. However, we’re sure De Vries would love an opportunity to dictate the narrative with his racing from next season onwards, which is a viable scenario after his performance in Monza.