Nyck de Vries, former RB driver in Formula 1 for just ten races in 2023, and Formula E champion in the 2020-2021 season, praised two young talents currently racing in Formula 2: Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman.
De Vries, who won the Formula 2 title, before racing in the electric category, made his Formula 1 debut at the age of 27, and highlighted the precocity of Antonelli, a Mercedes junior driver tipped to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
“Everyone talks about Bearman, who did well and consistently in F1, but Antonelli was ahead of him in all F2 training and in the first race in Bahrain, even with Prema not performing well,” said De Vries in an interview with the podcast ‘ On the Tracks’.
Although Bearman impressed on his Formula 1 debut, replacing Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia, De Vries sees Antonelli as having greater potential. The young Italian, just 17 years old, made his F2 debut this season, while Bearman is already participating for the second time.
“In the qualifying session in Jeddah, even with little training time, Antonelli was just two tenths away from pole. This shows that he is special”, added De Vries.
The Dutchman also highlighted the family-oriented motorsport environment that surrounds Antonelli. “He breathes racing. He has been racing since he was a child and is very intelligent. He knows everything about the sport”, concluded De Vries, who is currently racing again in Formula E, now for the Mahindra team.
Despite De Vries’ words, some people point out that there may be a lot of pressure on Antonelli, which could explain the lack of good results in Formula 2 races so far in his debut season.
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