Toto Wolff believes Nyck de Vries is a shoo-in for a seat on the Formula 1 grid for next year in the wake of his impressive debut for Williams.
The Dutchman was called in at short notice to drive competitively in the sport for the first time last weekend. Alex Albon was forced to miss out with appendicitis, and so de Vries drove his car instead at the Italian Grand Prix.
After a strong showing in qualifying, he started eighth on the grid for his maiden F1 race courtesy of a swathe of penalties for other drivers. And he lost just one place overall, scoring points on debut before being named driver of the day by fans.
It was an impressive audition from the F2 and Formula E champion, who has so far been overlooked for a place in the premier category. But Wolff expects that to change for the driver, who is on the books at Mercedes as a reserve.
"Niki [Lauda] would have taken off his hat," said the Austrian when asked for his reaction to de Vries' performance. "I think if one of the teams who still have a free seat don't pick him up now, then I don't understand the world anymore."
Free seats for 2023 are few at this stage of the season. Half of the grid have their driver pairings locked in, while others such as Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri are expected to extend deals for their current drivers or look elsewhere for options.
De Vries looks to have two serious choices, with Williams and Alpine said to be interested. His Mercedes connections meant he was already under consideration to replace Nicholas Latifi and race alongside Albon next year, and his eye-catching debut will certainly not have harmed his chances in that regard.
Alpine are performing better on-track, but waiting for an offer would be a riskier move as they still have several options when it comes to a replacement for Fernando Alonso. De Vries is set to test for them in Budapest later this month, along with former Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi and F2 star Jack Doohan.
"Ultimately, it's not up to me to decide whether I should have a seat or not. Of course, I can only do my job," said the 27-year-old after the race at Monza. "We live in a competitive industry, so you're as good as your last race, and you're always expected to perform – luckily I did that this weekend and I grabbed this opportunity with both hands."
