Ex-Formula 1 driver Nyck de Vries says he is open to racing in Super Formula full-time in the future ahead of his debut in the series at Motegi for Team Impul.
Toyota World Endurance Championship regular de Vries has been drafted into Impul’s line-up for both this weekend’s fifth round and the Fuji double-header in October, taking over the #19 car that Theo Pourchaire was originally supposed to race for the full season.
He will become the fourth different driver to occupy the seat in 2024 after Pourchaire, who left Impul after one race, with Ben Barnicoat and Toyota junior driver Hibiki Taira the other incumbents.
Looking ahead to his debut, de Vries revealed that he had attempted to join the Japanese series earlier in his career, when he was racing in Formula 2 as a McLaren junior driver.
“Actually, in 2017 I tried getting into Super Formula, but unfortunately it didn’t work out and I continued my career in the European ranks,” said de Vries.
“It’s a common path to see people coming from Europe, to Super Formula, going back to Ralf Schumacher, Ralph Firman, Tom Coronel, Andre Lotterer… hence why I have always looked at it. But there was never the right timing and opportunity to make such a move.
“This time through my relationship with Toyota in WEC, this opportunity came along and I’m very grateful for them to have the chance to be here today.”
De Vries has combined his Toyota WEC drive with a berth at Mahindra in Formula E this year, having lost his AlphaTauri F1 seat in favour of Daniel Ricciardo in mid-2023.
Asked by Autosport whether he can envisage himself racing in Super Formula beyond the two weekends he is committed to, he didn’t rule out the possibility.
“For now I am committed to both WEC and Formula E, and that will probably be the case for a bit longer, but I am always open to exploring different series,” said the Dutch driver.
“I have a lot of passion for racing and affection for Japan, and I have always looked at this series as being very interesting.
“You never know what the future holds but if there is an opportunity to combine this with something else, I’ll be very happy to do it.”
De Vries added he has been getting advice ahead of his Super Formula debut from Toyota WEC stablemates Kamui Kobayashi, and Ryo Hirakawa, as well as 2019 series champion and fellow Formula E racer Nick Cassidy.
But the 29-year-old admits he faces a tough task to make an impact this weekend with no prior experience of the Motegi track or the Dallara SF23.
“It’s going to be a steep learning curve because I don’t know the team, the car, the track and I didn’t do any laps on the simulator; I’ve only watched on-board videos,” said de Vries.
“It’s going to be tough but I very much look forward to this new experience. I hope to enjoy it, learn step-by-step and see where we end up at the end of the weekend.”
