Mercedes Issue a Statement on Leak Rumors as Driver Nick de Vries Joins Hands With Bitter Rivals Red Bull

As the silly season of F1 nears its end, teams have finally started to take shape. Pierre Gasly moved to Alpine Racing from AlphaTauri. Subsequently, Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries replaced the outgoing driver for the upcoming season. AlphaTauri is the sister team of Red Bull and there were questions raised if Nyck would take any team knowledge to their rivals post his move.

However, Mercedes aren’t concerned about the same and only wish the best for their Dutch reserve driver. The Mercedes camp was full of praises of de Vries in his tenure at the Silver Arrows.

Despite his move confirmed to AlphaTauri, Mercedes will deploy Nyck in George Russell’s car on Friday in Mexico. But Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott isn’t too concerned about the Dutch driver knowing of the team’s latest developments.

Elliott said, “We’re really pleased for him, for the opportunity he’s got. Maybe a shame where he’s going, but that’s what it is. I think he deserves the opportunity. I think he’s shown he’s a very good driver. Having him in the garage has been brilliant. He’s a really nice guy, very switched on, and he understands the car.”

He further added, “I think we have faith in him that we can put him in the car, we can do tests with him, and we can trust him to not be looking at the things we don’t want him to look at, and I think he’ll do a good job.”

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Nyck has had a great relationship with everyone at the Mercedes camp during his time as their reserve driver. He will partner with Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri next season.

Nyck de Vries explains his decision to move to Mercedes’ rivals

Former FE champion Nyck de Vries has defended his decision to move from Mercedes to AlphaTauri next season. The Dutchman explained how he was always free to drive for other constructors. Furthermore, he also stated that he was only looking out for his own interests and that he enjoys a friendly relationship with the Mercedes camp.

Nyck impressed everyone after his impressive debut in Monza. The Mercedes reserve driver racked up an impressive P9 finish in a Williams car in his first F1 race. He will be hoping for more such points finishes in a more competitive AlphaTauri car.

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F1 drivers moving to a rival team isn’t an uncommon sight. Many greats of the game like Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Michael Schumacher have done it in the past. Mercedes are not only not worried about de Vries joining their rivals, they wish him nothing but luck in his new journey. Can Nyck de Vries make his mark in F1?