De Vries to attend special course at Harvard Business School

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Ousted AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries has revealed that he will put his racing career on the backburner for a few months to attend a special course at Harvard Business School.

De Vries's tenure in Formula 1 lasted just ten races, with Red Bull opting to replace the Dutchman with Daniel Ricciardo after the British Grand Prix following the former's disappointing performances at AlphaTauri.

Many in the paddock, including de Vries' own teammate Yuki Tsunoda, believed that the 28-year-old rookie – a former title winner in the FIA Formula 2 and Formula E championships – deserved more time to adapt to the challenges of Formula 1.

Asked by Dutch website RacingNews365 if his eviction after Silverstone had been a bitter pill to swallow, de Vries says the blow was cushioned by the strong support provided by his entourage.

"Actually not. I had a lot of support and it actually went very naturally," he said. "I've been playing a lot of golf since then."

Read also: Latifi pauses racing career to study for MBA

De Vries' track record in motorsport is likely to spur opportunities to race in either Formula E or in the WEC in the future.

But in the interim, the Dutchman has set his sights on improving his education with a spell at the Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"I've never studied before in my life, in fact, I didn't even finish high school," he admitted.

"But in September I'm going to take a course at Harvard. Negotiation and Leadership, a little bit of studying. More because I just like it now that I have some time and the interest to learn other things."

De Vries' decision to head back to school was perhaps the result of his recent conversations with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff who continues to advise the former AlphaTauri driver.

Earlier this year, Wolff was appointed an Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School where he will serves as a guest lecturer.

The role sees the Mercedes F1 team co-owner share his insights with the schools MBA students on high-performance leadership, organizational culture and personal effectiveness gained in one of the world's most competitive industries.

De Vries is the only ex-F1 driver to go back to school, with former Williams charger Nicholas Latifi announcing last month that he has paused his motorsport career to pursue a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the London Business School.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.