- Former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries has given up his dream of F1
- He lost his spot to Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo and is now going back to school
- De Vries, 28, only competed in 10 races without earning a point
Former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries has given up his dream of F1 racing after losing his spot to Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo and is now going back to pursue a degree in Leadership and Negotiation at Harvard.
De Vries, 28, only competed in 10 races without earning a point, and in July he was replaced at the Red Bull-owned team.
The Dutch driver says that this is the first time he will walk into a lecture hall since completing his high school education.
He got into racing after leaving high school.
“I’ve never studied before in my life, in fact, I didn’t even finish high school,” he told RacingNews365.
Nyck De Vries. Photo/Autosport
He added: “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.”
The Dutch formerly worked as a reserve driver for Mercedes under Toto Wolff who doubles up as a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School.
Wolff assisted in instructing MBA students on a case study titled “Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team” run by Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse.
De Vries failed to score any points in his debut season with AlphaTauri, and was often outperformed by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
His sacking came as a surprise to many, as he had been considered one of the most promising young drivers on the grid.
After demonstrating considerable promise in his lone race for Williams in 2022, finishing in the points in eighth place.
He signed with AlphaTauri which is Red Bull’s sister team for the 2023 campaign. His full-time position seemed merited at the beginning of this season because he also drove for Mercedes as a reserve, but he failed to record a point in the first 10 races.
Sadly, De Vries who is a F2 and Formula E World Champion waited until he was 27 for his big break in F1.
However, all his racing dreams were dashed by Red Bull’s decision to reinstate Ricciardo to the starting grid. Ricciardo raced for McLaren until 2022 when he mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the team.
Nyck de Vries in the Williams garage.|PHOTO: PlanetF1|
He stayed off the grid for a while until Red Bull came knocking and he agreed to return to the circuit as De Vries’ replacement.
Recalling his sacking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Dutch driver said that it wasn’t as hard as people thought.
He had a supportive structure behind him at home and he switched to playing golf before deciding to go back to Harvard and pursue his dream in leadership.
De Vries joins a few other former F1 drivers who returned to school after their stint on the grid.
Nicholas Latifi, a former Williams driver, revealed in July that he would be enrolling in the London Business School’s MBA program.
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