Max Verstappen wishes Nyck De Vries the best for the 2022 F1 Italian GP

Dutch driver Nyck de Vries will start the 2022 F1 Italian GP in P8 on his debut, right next to Max Verstappen. de Vries is replacing Alex Albon, who was down with appendicitis following the practice sessions.

Though he only had one practice session with Williams, he did a fantastic job in qualifying. In his first ever F1 qualifying, he outperformed regular driver Nicholas Latifi, who couldn't make it past Q1. de Vries finished P13 in Q2 but thanks to the numerous penalties, he will be starting P8 next to his compatriot Verstappen.

Speaking about the young Dutchman's unplanned F1 debut and his qualifying performance, Max Verstappen said:

“It is of course nice for Nyck and of course also quite unusual that he drove two different cars during one weekend. I hope for Nyck that he will especially enjoy it. In the end, he is also still in a good car this weekend. That Williams can at least do well in midfield, so you can also show yourself a bit. So I hope first that he enjoys and second that he makes it a great race.”

“Very unexpectedly of course, but it’s nice for Nyck and in the end I think it’s also a nice weekend to join Williams. They are, of course, competitive. In Spa already and here again. I hope for Nyck that nothing crazy happens in the first lap and that he can just drive a nice race.”

Max Verstappen confident about Nyck de Vries' preparation

Nyck de Vries barely had any time to prepare for his F1 debut. According to Max Verstappen, however, that shouldn't be too much of an issue since he already has enough experience from Formula 2 and Formula E.

Verstappen said:

“Of course he has already driven in Formula 2 and also in enough other classes. I don’t think it matters much to him. He has quite a bit of experience to get through that.”

“I didn’t see exactly how he did against [Nicholas] Latifi, although that may not be the best reference… But we all know what Nyck can do. Nyck doesn’t win Formula E for nothing, and there are a lot of good guys driving around there too. Sometimes you also have to be a bit lucky to get into Formula 1 at the right time. It all has to be a little bit.”

The two Dutchmen will be starting P7 and P8 with de Vries right behind his well-wisher Verstappen. The Red Bull driver is happy for his compatriot and hopes things go well for him in his first F1 race.

Max Verstappen himself finished P2 in qualifying, but is starting P7 due to his penalties at Monza.