Mercedes' George Russell feels it was 'tougher' for Nyck De Vries to drive Williams at F1 Italian GP than his own sudden call at 2020 Sakhir GP

Mercedes driver George Russell believes that Nyck De Vries had to face a tougher challenge driving the Williams during the Italian Grand Prix than Russell himself had to as a Mercedes reserve driver. He recalled his time adapting to a Formula 1 car and said that it took a couple of laps to drive it right.

He appreciated the Dutchman's performance as he ended his debut F1 race in two points, giving the team a boost of points for the upcoming races.

“I think probably tougher for him, to be honest, than it was for me.”

During the special Sakhir Grand Prix of 2020, George Russell, then a Williams driver, got a call from Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton had contracted COVID-19. He was a reserve driver for the team at the time and had to replace Hamilton in the race. He started the race in P2, behind Valterri Bottas, both in the Mercedes, but ended P9. Nyck De Vries had the same result, the difference being he was in a Williams and was in P8 when the race started. Russell thinks it's "pretty spectacular" to score points in a debut F1 race, like De Vries did.

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George Russell compares his drive in Sakhir to Nyck De Vries' in Italy

George Russell was a full-time F1 driver when he was called in to replace Hamilton for the race in Sakhir, so it was relatively easy for him to adapt to the car since he was already driving in the Williams. But the case was different for De Vries. He has been competing in the FIA Formula E championship, and has done the same so far. This is why he has minimal experience driving a Formula 1 car. Still, after he was called in for qualifying and the race in Italy (after Alex Albon was hospitalized) he managed to perform way better than Nicholas Latifi in the same car. When comparing his performance to Russell's performance in Sakhir, De Vries turns out to be better as they both finished in the same place but George Russell had the grid's fastest car and De Vries was on the polar opposite. This is what Russell had to say about it:

“I was obviously a full-time race driver then and equally as well for him, jumping from Aston Martin on Friday into a Williams…it’s a different car, the seating position is different.”

He continued:

“I remember when I was doing testing with Mercedes and Force India at the time and driving F2, it took quite a few laps just to get used to the different feeling of how those cars reacted.”

Nyck De Vries' performance was flattering; it amazed the spectators and others on the grid. This has opened up many opportunities for him to get a seat in a Formula 1 team, not as a reserve driver, but as a full-time one. He was speculated to get into Williams, but recent reports have revealed a close contact between him and AlphaTauri. This could lead to Pierre Gasly being out of the team, possibly into Alpine (as the reports suggest).