Nyck de Vries believes he deserves an opportunity at a race seat in Formula 1.
The Dutch driver has won both the Formula 2 and Formula E championships in recent years and has now completed three Friday Practice outings, his most recent coming for Aston Martin at Monza.
De Vries has also been linked to the second seat at Williams for 2023, and will in fact race for the team in Italy replacing the unwell Alex Albon.
But despite his ties to Mercedes, the 27-year-old admits his future is uncertain.
“Time will tell. I don’t know, it’s out of my hands. It’s not in my control,” he told Formula1.com.
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“Obviously, it’s a dream and I think I would deserve a chance, but ultimately it’s not up to me to decide a driver line-up.”
Given possible alternatives in Formula E, sportscars or elsewhere, has De Vries got a deadline on sorting his 2023 plans?
“No,” he said. “I’ll wait and see how this develops. Of course, I don’t risk my long-term chances by continuing to hope for something that may not come. But at this stage, there’s no point in worrying because I can’t influence it anyway.
“I can’t say more about it, because that’s the reality.”
Elsewhere in F1, there is a debate over whether the FIA should grant IndyCar driver, and AlphaTauri-linked, Colton Herta a superlicence, despite not having the necessary 40 points to his name.
And as a driver who could potentially be impacted by the decision, De Vries in unsurprisingly opposed to the possibility.
“I think the rules that have been created for this should simply be complied with,” he told Motorsport.com. “Besides being frustrating, I think it’s also bad for the system.
“It could have a negative effect on Formula 2 and Formula 3 because if you can score points more easily elsewhere, you get drivers to move to other championships.
“In that case, for example, a driver would rather opt for the Indy Lights, in which only about 12 cars drive.
“Personally, I believe that you should stick to the rules and not make exceptions in these kinds of situations.
“There are plenty of superlicensed drivers to choose from,” he added.
“And if they go in that direction and start making exceptions, where does it stop? Then of course many more drivers will knock on the door of the FIA thinking they deserve dispensation.”
