F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Mercedes adds Nyck de Vries as test and reserve driver

Mercedes has announced that current ABB Formula E front-runner Nyck de Vries has been appointed as one of their test and reserve drivers for 2021.

The 26-year-old Dutch driver currently competes for the manufacturer in the all-electric championship alongside former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne. He took a dominant maiden victory in the opening race of the new season in Diriyah on Friday.

Vandoorne will also continue as test and reserve driver for a second season. De Vries takes over from former Sauber and Haas driver Esteban Gutiérrez, who no longer has a valid F1 superlicence now that four years has elapsed since his final Grand Prix outing.

In a press release, Mercedes stated that it had "a strong reserve driver line-up for the 2021 season, with Stoffel Vandoorne continuing in the role alongside his Mercedes teammate in Formula E, Nyck de Vries."

De Vries clinched the 2019 Formula 2 championship by a comprehensive margin over Nicholas Latifi. But while Latifi gained instant promotion to Formula 1 the following year with Williams, de Vries missed out despite having accrued enough superlicence points in junior series since 2016 to be eligible.

Instead, a season with Mercedes in Formula E led to the team selecting him to take part in the Abu Dhabi rookie test at Yas Marina at the end of 2020, and now to his first formal role in F1 in 2021.

"It's fantastic that he's been able to show what he's capable," Mercedes Formula E team boss Ian James said after Friday's landmark victory. "It was a great performance from Nyck.

"We were able to see what a strong contender he is over the course of last season, and it's great that he's now managed to translate that into his first Formula E win."

©Mercedes

The position of reserve driver has special importance at the moment because of the risk of full-time drivers contracting coronavirus and being ruled out of one or more races.

Racing Point pair Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll both tested positive for coronavirus during 2020. The team uses Mercedes engines and could have called upon the manufacturer to loan out one of its reserve drivers. However it decided instead to call up Nico Hulkenberg at short notice.

Subsequently Lewis Hamilton was also forced to sit out the Sakhir GP. Rather than handing Hamilton's temporarily vacant seat to the available Vandoorne, Mercedes opted to bring in George Russell from Williams who was in turn replaced by Jack Aitken.

Russell is still regarded as one of the leading candidates to replace Hamilton when and if the world champion decided to retire. But the arrival of de Vries in the wings alongside Vandoorne shows that the squad is building up a deep pool of talent that will available when needed.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 São Paulo GP

Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…

2 hours ago

Jos Verstappen rips British media after Brazilian Max fest

Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…

3 hours ago

Leclerc left with ‘mixed feelings’ after disappointing Sao Paulo GP

Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…

5 hours ago

Back when Kimi knew exactly what he was doing

Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…

7 hours ago

Mercedes fined for starting grid tyre pressure infringement

The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…

7 hours ago

Hamilton’s woes deepen after battling ‘plank of wood’ car in Brazil

Despite his best efforts, a lowly tenth-place finish was as good as it got for…

9 hours ago