"A Formula 1 seat is of course not a sofa"- Nyck de Vries on his comfortability level in Williams at 2022 F1 Italian GP

Nyck De Vries, who made his F1 debut last weekend at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix as a replacement for Alex Albon in Williams, drove a phenomenal race to secure P9. However, he was visibly exhausted by the end of it.

Before even stepping out of the car, the 27-year-old admitted that he was cramping up. He later confessed that he was not an assessment of the comfort level of a Williams car in particular. Nyck claimed that the discomfort was to be attributed to the fact that he was sitting behind the wheel for the duration of a 57-lap race for the first time in a very long time.

In a conversation with RacingNews365, Nyck de Vries described the physical aspect of his first Grand Prix in F1:

"A Formula 1 seat is of course not a sofa. It will never be completely comfortable, you will always feel some discomfort after such a long time behind the wheel, but in general I was comfortable in the car."

On the team radio at the end of the race, de Vries was heard complaining about pain in his shoulders. He said:

"My shoulders are dead. I'm struggling to even...Can someone help me or am I alone in Parc Ferme? I can literally not even lift my arms anymore."

In a post-race interaction, when asked about the exhaustion at the end of the Grand Prix, the Dutchman said:

"It wasn't really the intensity and the heart rate or something, it's just my arms...I couldn't move my arms anymore, so it was tough!"

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Toto Wolff would not "understand the world anymore" if Nyck de Vries does not get an F1 seat in 2023

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, like the rest of the paddock, was impressed by Nyck de Vries last weekend. Wolff emphasized that it would be a shame to see a talent like de Vries be sidelined, especially after he has proven himself to be a class apart.

Reacting to the Mercedes reserve driver's outing in Monza, as reported by the Mirror, Wolff said:

"Niki [Lauda] would have taken off his hat. 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."

Nyck de Vries described F1 as a "competitive industry". He admitted that while the decision regarding a potential seat in the sport is simply not in his hands, he is content with his job at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend:

"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. 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."

Nyck de Vries also recently confirmed that he has been in talks with Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko regarding a potential seat in the team for the 2023 F1 season.