“He is very genuine, always” - Nyck de Vries opens up about ‘really good human being’ Max Verstappen

AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries recently opened up about his friendship with fellow Dutch F1 driver Max Verstappen. De Vries and Verstappen have known each other for a long time, racing against each other in junior categories.

De Vries admires Max Verstappen's achievements while adding that Verstappen is a 'genuine' human being who has remained the same ever since he has known his fellow countryman.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about the two-time world champion, the 28-year-old AlphaTauri driver said:

"We chat regularly. We've known each other since we were kids and I respect him a lot and admire all those achievements and accomplishments. He is a really good human being. He is very genuine, always. I would say he has never changed since I've known him, like never."

He added:

"We've talked a lot about racing together, and sort of through that, obviously, comes kind of advice. I wouldn't call it specifically 'advice,' but it's similar to how, you know, friends talk about football or talk about racing in school."

Nyck de Vries and Max Verstappen (Twitter: @verstappenews)

While Nyck de Vries is the older of the two, it is Max Verstappen who has more experience in F1. The AlphaTauri driver is in his rookie season this year, and Verstappen is in his ninth F1 season. The #1 Red Bull driver's junior career was fast-tracked, as he entered the highest echelon of motorsports as a 17-year-old teenager.

De Vries also reasoned that Verstappen's success in recent years has influenced the rise in the popularity of F1 in the Netherlands. Reflecting on the sports boom in his country he said:

"When it comes to the Netherlands, I doubt it gets any bigger than this. Because having someone who won two world championships and who's continuing to fight for many more, I'm not sure how many years we would have to wait for next one. Living in this era is very special."

While Nyck de Vries had an underwhelming start to his rookie campaign, he will be keen on proving his talent to compete against Verstappen someday.

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Max Verstappen reacts to the cancelation of the Emilia Romagna GP

Max Verstappen lauded F1's decision to cancel the Emilia Romagna GP scheduled this weekend. The sixth round of the 2023 season in Imola, Italy, has been canceled due to severe weather conditions in the region.

The Reigning champion called F1's decision 'logical' citing that the safety of the local people was of utmost importance. The Emilia Romagna region has been struck down by rain storms in recent weeks, claiming two lives earlier this month.

Verstappen said to De Telegraaf:

"Safety and help for the people who really need it is the most important thing. That is where care should go first. So it seems only logical to me that we will not race at times like this."

After the cancelation of the race, F1 heads to the principality of Monaco next week.