Nyck de Vries 'probably the most successful' in go-karting out of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Alex Albon

Mercedes driver George Russell has backed Nyck de Vries' much anticipated debut in F1 next year and revealed a new detail about him. Russell talked about the go-karting days of de Vries. The Mercedes driver also believes that de Vries deserves his chance and is a top driver.

While speaking to Motorsport.com, Russell, who has worked with Nyck de Vries, revealed:

“Out of the karting boys Nyck was the only one who hadn’t made it to F1 who probably deserved to make it to F1. So those five drivers, between myself, Alex [Albon], Max [Verstappen], Charles [Leclerc] and Nyck, who were in that period racing against each other in ’11 and ’12, as I said, Nyck was the only one who didn’t make it, so happy to see him there."

Russell further spoke about Nyck de Vries' karting dominance. He described how de Vries was 'the man to beat':

“I’ve always rated him. In go-karting, he was the man to beat. I never raced him in go-karting, but out of all of us, he was probably the most successful one in go-karting. I’ve never not rated him."

He continued:

“I think to get to F1, you need to do the job at the right time when there is an opportunity on the grid, and sometimes those stars don’t align. But with the amount of stars that aligned in Monza it probably made up for the unfortunateness of a few years ago."

Nyck de Vries is the 2019 Formula 2 world champion and the 2020-21 Formula E world champion. The driver, for the longest time, was one of the only few top junior category drivers to have not made it to Formula 1.

However, after years of waiting, de Vries was announced as the AlphaTauri replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly during the 2022 F1 Japanese GP. Safe to say, many are waiting to see how Nyck de Vries fares in F1 post his smashing debut with Williams at Monza.

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Lando Norris feels Nyck de Vries deserves AlphaTauri chance in Formula 1

McLaren star Lando Norris was full of praise for the talented Dutchman, de Vries. The driver has competed with the likes of Norris, Russell, and even Charles Leclerc during his time in go-karting and F2.

Knowing de Vries' strengths in a good enough car, Norris told Motorsport.com:

"He's clearly a very good driver. I think he's proved that since the very beginning in karting. He completely dominated a lot of the karting stuff, he's Formula E world champion, and many things. So he's a top driver. Obviously he deserves it, he did a good job in Monza when he sat in. He's proved his worth, and we'll see next year what he can do."

Nyck de Vries was in talks of a promotion with many F1 teams. The Dutchman even served as a test and reserve driver for Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Williams periodically.

He became a big catch for Red Bull and Co. after his astonishing debut at the 2022 F1 Italian GP. The driver not only outqualified his seasoned teammate Nicholas Latifi but also finished in points in the race. This was nothing short of a marvel for someone who does not drive an F1 car on the main stage.