Nyck de Vries reprimanded by the stewards after the race
The replacement for Alex Albon was called in by the race stewards for "erratic driving" during the Italian Grand Prix.
Nyck de Vries’ weekend was undoubtedly a little too perfect. After earning his first points in Formula 1 with a 9th place finish in Monza, and being voted driver of the day, the Dutchman was summoned by the commissioners.
The reason: alleged “erratic behavior” particularly with Guanyu Zhou, the Alfa Romeo driver following him in the final standings. Nyck de Vries and a representative from Williams had to appear before the stewards at 5:30 PM local time.
The incident was noted at 4:15 pm, in the safety car train at the end of the race. At that moment, the Williams driver suddenly braked behind Pierre Gasly, reducing his speed in order to stay above the “Delta Time” (which corresponds to the difference between a driver’s current lap time and a predetermined lap time set by his team).
Also read: Nyck de Vries elected driver of the day.
The commissioners ultimately decided to impose only a reprimand on Nyck de Vries after hearing Williams’ justifications.
The driver stated that after the second lap under the safety car, he did not know why his screen was indicating that he was at risk of being below the delta time. At the same time, he was having brake issues and was in radio contact with the team about it, so he did not receive any advice from the team regarding his delta, as stated in the commissioners’ report.
Without a doubt, a relief for the driver who keeps his 9th place and can now rest after an exhausting first race. « Wow, that was incredible. What a way to start. Thank you. “My shoulders are dead!” he replied when his team radioed him with the title of the driver of the day.
Congrats, @nyckdevries! 🤩👏#WeAreWilliams #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/JnKjS4KyMG
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) September 11, 2022
